Cosmic Crisis 3: A New Enemy
by Nekofeko
Summary: Part 3 of the Cosmic Crisis series, there is a time paradox which causes Natalie to diappear. Can the ZSenshi help her in time? With the help of three new warriors, they might just have a chance. Version 1.0
1. Chapter 1

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
  
And so begins another installment of Cosmic Crisis...  
  
  
Chapter 1 - Airline Adventures  
  
  
Bulma sat in her seat, looking out the window at the clouds below her. They had been on this flight for two hours already, and there were an easy five still to come. She let out a bored sigh, looking over at Vegeta, who was dozing next to her with his seat reclined. Goku was on the other side of the cabin, snoring loudly.   
  
Bulma thought to herself. Chi-Chi was sitting next to the sleeping Saiya-jin, looking quite annoyed. Gohan and Videl were in the back, trying to get some sleep amidst the noise.  
  
Vegeta opened his eyes and looked around. Trunks and Goten were sitting adjacent to the young girls, Bra and Pan. Goten was listening to his Discman while Trunks leaned against the window, trying desperately to get some shut-eye, despite Goku's loud snoring.  
  
"Mmph...no, wait Vegeta...don't eat that..." Goku muttered in his sleep. Trunks was about to slam his head into the side of the cabin in frustration when Goten tore his headphones off and handed them to Trunks.  
  
"Wanna listen?" he asked his friend, who was on the brink of temporary insanity. Trunks looked up at Goten with an "I-have-a-headache-and-don't-want-to-hear-it" look on his face.   
  
"Nani?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Nevermind. I guess he forgot to bring his "Breathe Right" nasal strips for the trip." Goten said, gesturing to his sleeping father. Suddenly, the door to the bathroom swung open and Natalie came bounding out, waking Goku in the process.   
  
"Huh? Wha -?" Goku said, sitting up.   
  
"Oh, gomen, Kakarotto-san." She said, walking toward her seat. She passed by Vegeta on the way, elbowing him affectionately. He growled in annoyance and looked out the window. She continued until she came to where Goten and Trunks were sitting.  
  
"Goten. Can I listen?" she asked, pulling one of the headphones off his left ear while looking at him with her sweetest expression. He looked up into her eyes and tried to mutter something, but failed.   
  
"H-hai." He said, handing her the CD player. Trunks looked at his friend with a smirk on his face as soon as the girl headed for her seat in front of them.   
  
"Man, Goten. Feminine persuasion really gets to you!" Trunks joked.   
  
"Hey!" Goten cried, punching Trunks in the arm. "You're the same way." He muttered. The long flight had made them all cranky, so Goten decided to stretch his legs. He got up from his seat and walked towards the cockpit, drawing back the curtain to see Dr. Briefs piloting the airplane.   
  
"What can I do for you, my boy?" the man asked without even turning around.  
  
"How did you know -?" Goten broke off, looking rather confused.   
  
"Oh, I saw you come in." he said in his gruff, but friendly voice. "Only a few more hours until we reach the island. What can I get you?" he asked, opening a cupboard filled with food and beverage capsules. Goten inspected the contents, but declined, knowing that dinner would be served soon.  
  
"Arigatou, Briefs-san." Goten said, returning to the passenger cabin to discover Bra and Pan arguing over who would get to eat the last piece of chocolate in their bag. Deciding to end the quarrel, Goten walked over and took it, throwing it up in the air and catching it in his mouth. "Problem Solved." He said wryly and walked away, chuckling. The two girls stood with shocked expressions on their face until Bra's jaw dropped and Pan's lips quivered. Natalie glanced over at them, producing a look of surprise when she saw their faces and then watched as Goten passed by, winking at her. She shot him a questioning look and then turned and looked out the window. She could hear Trunks say something to his friend but couldn't make out the words with the headphones on. The sun was slowly setting over the horizon, producing a brilliant golden light, which shone through the windows and danced on everyone's faces and figures.   
  
"Excuse me. May I have your attention, please?" Dr. Briefs said over the loudspeaker. Natalie ripped off the headphones to listen. "According to the charts, we have another seven hours to go. We have to fly off course as a result of passing storms." Groans were heard throughout the cabin. "Tonight, we have a wide variety of food capsules to chose from, so help yourself! There's plenty to go around." He finished, turning off the speaker. Natalie rolled her eyes at the thought of sitting on this stupid airplane for any longer.   
  
I wish I hadn't packed all my stuff into the stupid cargo bay. I could really use my sketchbook right now. Natalie thought to herself. If there was one thing she loved, it was art. She had numerous drawing books filled with pictures that she had kept. Her mother used to keep them in a safe box to preserve them. Natalie quickly dismissed the thought, since thinking about her mother tended to upset her. Ever since the accident almost a year ago...  
  
"Natalie!" a voice shouted, startling the girl. She looked around, intent on telling that someone off for scaring her, when she saw Trunks looking at her from behind her seat.   
  
"Nani!?" she said, taking off her headphones for the third time now. This was beginning to irritate her.   
  
"What do you want for dinner?" He asked. She looked towards the aisle and saw Mrs. Briefs standing next to a cart full of food and beverage capsules. The blonde-haired woman smiled and handed the girl a menu. Natalie opened it and quickly scanned its contents.   
  
"Um...I'll have..." she began, looking at the various selections. "Curry Chicken with extra rice." She finally decided.   
  
"And to drink?" Mrs. Briefs asked.  
  
Natalie couldn't make up her mind, and seeing the rather impatient looks on the people behind her, she blurted out, "Surprise me!" Mrs. Briefs looked at Natalie with a doubtful grin and then proceeded to pull out a capsule. She depressed the top and set it on the cart to manifest itself. When the meal appeared, she quickly shoved it into the high-powered microwave to warm it up.   
  
"My husband is still working on developing food capsules that heat themselves. Unfortunately, he still has a few bugs to work out." Mrs. Briefs said while waiting for the food to cook. When it was done, she handed the steaming plate to Natalie. The girl looked at the food hungrily and was about to dive in when Mrs. Briefs shoved a bucket of beverage capsules toward her. Natalie buried her hand into the container, drawing out a random capsule. Mrs. Briefs moved on, giving Natalie some plastic-ware and packets of soy sauce on her way. Almost instantly, the girl forked a bite of food into her mouth. Unfortunately for her, it hadn't cooled down yet and she cried out in pain as tears welled up in her eyes. She forced herself to swallow the piping hot food, wincing as it traveled down her throat. Everyone on the plane turned and stared at the now embarrassed Natalie. She flashed a grin that resembled one of Goku's cheesy smiles and looked down at her food. After what seemed like hours of silence, but was really only a few seconds, Mrs. Briefs finally spoke.   
  
"And what would you like, Trunks, sweetie?" She asked, smiling sweetly at her grandson. While everyone else ordered, Natalie depressed her beverage capsule to see what she had gotten. When a can appeared, she quickly looked at the label.  
  
she thought as she reluctantly opened the can. She didn't want to waste the stuff, so she took a sip and swallowed it, trying not to acknowledge the taste. She turned around to see what the boys had gotten after taking another bite of her now-cooling-off curry. Trunks and Goten had both gotten steaks with fries. She then noticed that they both had five more food capsules set aside. she thought to herself. She knew that being a Saiya-jin meant that you had a big appetite. She sure had one, but it wasn't as big as theirs. There were a few other differences between her and all of the others. For one, she couldn't go Oozaru when she had her tail. Bulma once explained that since humans are neutral, their anatomy didn't affect any of the Saiya-jin characteristics when the two were combined. In fact, it enhanced them. But Sidra-jin anatomy, like Saiya-jin, had special characteristics to it, that when mixed with other races with the same characteristics, could produce several outcomes. She wished that she knew more about her past, but she was thankful for the little information she possessed. It was all she had.  
  
"Do you need something, Nat?" Trunks asked, snapping her back to reality. She realized that she had been staring at him the whole time.   
  
"O-Oh, no. Um...sorry." She said, becoming flushed and turning around quickly. Her dinner was now cool enough to eat enjoyably and she ate another bite, thinking about the week ahead. Her birthday was in a couple of days, and she would be turning sixteen! She could hardly wait. Trunks and Goten had already had their birthdays, and so far, she was the youngest of the three. Bulma and her family had decided to take a trip to Hawaii to celebrate, as well as to get away for a while. She was so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the bite of chicken that slipped off her fork and onto her shirt, leaving a red stain on her light grey pullover. "Man..." she muttered, her mouth full of food. She rummaged through her carryon bag for another shirt, finally locating a short-sleeved yellow shirt with "Capsule Corp." printed in navy on the front. She hurried to the airplane bathroom to change but it was already occupied. Looking around the airplane, she immediately noticed that Goku's chair was empty. Just as she was turning to leave, the bathroom door swung open, narrowly missing her face, to reveal Goku.   
  
"Gomen, Natalie." Goku said, moving out of her way. He slapped her on the back on the way out.   
  
"No problem, Kakarotto-san." She muttered. Just as she was about to walk into the room, Vegeta raced past her and slammed the door in her face. She narrowed her eyes and growled in frustration, leaning against the opposite wall with her arms crossed. She could hear Trunks and Goten snickering from their seats. After a few minutes, Vegeta emerged from the bathroom and she shot him a glare, proceeding to bump into him on her way past. She went into the tiny stall and shut the door behind her and changed into the new shirt, trying to stay standing as they went through some mild turbulence. Finally, after five minutes of torture, she emerged from the bathroom with an annoyed look of her face. Her hair was pushed to one side messily and her cheeks were burning. She could feel Goten and Trunks watching her as she strode past, trying desperately to keep her cool.   
  
she thought reassuringly to herself. Plopping down into her seat, she sighed. She was DEFINITELY not looking forward to the flight ahead... 


	2. Chapter 2

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 2 - Airline Adventures part 2  
  
  
Natalie stirred in her sleep. She had been fortunate to drift off during the long flight. The bad part was, everyone else was awake on account that it was only 8:30, their time. Pan and Bra were playing with their dolls, while Trunks and Goten sat in their seats with absolutely nothing to do. Gohan was in the back of the cabin, reading a book on physics, while Videl flipped through a magazine, looking bored. Bulma was working on her laptop, trying to design an advanced version of the Hope time machine, and Vegeta was dozing next to her.   
  
The young Sidra-jin girl was having a nightmare. This wasn't a good sign, since she seemed to be prone to them, especially whenever her subconscious sensed an impending enemy. Trunks watched her with interest as she tossed vigorously in the airplane seat. She let out a muffled cry and her aura flared, lighting up the airplane cabin and startling all of the passengers. Even Dr. Briefs saw the flash, sitting in the cockpit. Trunks took immediate action and jumped from his seat to the one next to her, shaking the girl furiously. She still hadn't awakened, and had now started trying to beat Trunks away from her, for she thought that he was trying to attack her.   
  
"Natalie!" Trunks said, grabbing her shoulders and gripping them tightly. Suddenly, she snapped back to reality, looking terrified while she took rapid breaths. She then realized that everyone was staring at her and immediately turned bright red.  
  
"Uh-uh...I g-guess I was having a nightmare..." she said, shrinking back into her seat and curling into a little ball. Everyone then went back to whatever they had been doing previous to the little episode. She could hear Vegeta mumble something about the fact that Orion had better be dead this time. Trunks plopped into the seat next to the girl, trying not to make her nervous.   
  
"What was it about?" he asked her. She muttered something under her breath, not even bothering to look back at him. "What?" Trunks asked.  
  
"I said it was nothing. I can't even remember it anyway." She replied, this time in a louder tone.  
  
"Nat, you could've ripped the airplane to shreds!" he said, almost in a joking tone of voice. She looked back at him with a bitter expression. "Whoa. What's wrong with you?" he said, backing up a bit from the girl.  
  
"Don't you know when to leave someone alone?" she said, crossing her arms and staring straight ahead. She desperately wished that she could sleep peacefully without threatening everyone around her. Meanwhile, Goten was watching through the crack between the seats with a smirk on his face.   
  
he thought, smiling inside. Obviously Natalie was sensitive to certain things, and nightmares were one of them.   
  
"Aww, come on Natalie. You look so cute when you're mad." Trunks joked, punching her on the arm playfully. She just sighed and sunk back into her seat, staring out the window. The sun was now set and the stars glittered in the night sky. She saw a rather bright star twinkling, wondering about her home planet, Vela, and if she would ever be able to learn more about her past. It was quite frustrating to her. At least Trunks knew of his origins. She didn't even know her real parents.  
  
Trunks watched her curiously. He could sense that something was bothering her...just by the look on her face. But he didn't want to disturb her, for he knew that she could have short temper at times.   
  
he chuckled to himself. His dad was the same way.   
  
Vegeta sat in his seat, his arms crossed. He could sense something bothering that girl. And he didn't like it.  
  
"What's the matter?" Bulma asked, looking over at her husband. Vegeta just grunted in reply.   
  
"Hey Bulma!" Goku yelled, appearing in the aisle next to where Vegeta was sitting. His voice was so loud that Vegeta jumped in surprise, becoming greatly annoyed.  
  
"Kakarotto..." Vegeta muttered under his breath.  
  
"Yes?" she asked, looking up from her laptop.  
  
"Where does your dad keep the food capsules? I already finished the fifteen that Mrs. Briefs gave me." He said, burping. Bulma and Vegeta produced sweat drops, not bothering to reply. "Hmm...oh well!" Goku said, frolicking down the aisle towards the cockpit to get another serving of food.   
  
By now, Natalie had rested her head on Trunks shoulder, half asleep in this position. Suddenly, Goku's cries of joy were heard through the plane, waking her with a start, much to her annoyance. She opened her eyes slowly, focusing on her surroundings.  
  
"Kakarotto no baka..." she said with an irritated tone of voice. Trunks tried not to laugh and put his arm around her, resting his head on hers. Just as they had gotten comfortable, Bra walked up and jumped right into Trunks' lap, landing in a rather...bad spot. Trunks turned a strange shade of blue and winced before doubling over. Goten, who had seen it happen, had a look on his face that read, "That HAD to hurt".   
  
"You're so funny, Niichan!" Bra cried, slapping him on the back before she leapt back into the aisle, heading towards Vegeta's seat.   
  
"Trunks...?" Natalie said, lifting up a few strands of his hair to see his face with a rather painful expression on it. She glanced over to see Pan snickering from her seat. Finally, Trunks regained his composure and shot daggers at his sister with his eyes. Natalie slapped herself on the head and fell back into the seat.   
  
"DESSERT'S HERE!" Mrs. Briefs shouted, causing everyone on the entire plane to jump three feet out of his or her seats. The perky, blonde haired woman came strolling out of the cockpit holding a silver tray of various cakes and pies. Natalie casually looked up from fiddling with the radio on the armrest and grew wide-eyed when she saw the confections. She waited in anticipation as Mrs. Briefs served Goku and Chi-chi, who were in the front, until she was at Bra and Pan's seats, which were across the aisle from the teenagers. When Mrs. Briefs leaned over, Natalie almost fell out of her seat from leaning over to get a closer look at the treats.   
  
"What would you like, sweetie?" the woman asked kindly. Natalie stuttered as she struggled to make a decision.  
  
"U-um...I'll have..." she said, twisting her hair in that agonizing moment. How she wished to just devour them all and enjoy each one. she thought to herself.  
  
"We'll take them all." Trunks blurted out, grabbing the entire tray out of her hands. Natalie and Goten looked at the boy in shock.  
  
"Oh, dear. I should've brought more capsules." Mrs. Briefs said and headed back towards the front. Trunks, Goten, and Natalie all headed toward the back of the plane, passing everyone on the way. At the end of the aisle was a curtain. Trunks pulled it back to reveal a door, which he opened cautiously. Natalie and Goten followed, peering around the corners curiously. Inside were a sofa, a few chairs, and a round table in the center, as well as a TV mounted on the wall in the far right-hand corner.  
  
"It's Ojiisan's recreation room. I'm the only one who knows about it besides him." Trunks snickered. He sat the tray down on the table and pulled up one of the larger, more comfortable chairs and sank into it. "Well come on." He said, motioning for them to join him. Goten let out a cry of joy and leaped onto the sofa like a little boy, while Natalie made a mad dash for the dessert plate. Her eyes lit up as she scanned the plate, reaching for a fork in the process, but noticing that there weren't any.   
  
"Uh..." she said, looking down at the tray and then back up at Trunks. However, she wasn't going to let this slight disadvantage deter her, so with a "what the hell" look, she simply reached and broke off a bite of cake with her hand. Trunks let out a combination of a laugh and a sigh, rolling his eyes as she popped the bite into her mouth. "What!?" she said, her mouth full of cake. She then noted the ridiculousness of her appearance, as her cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk and her hands had icing smeared on them. An evil grin appeared on her face and she looked at Trunks slyly.   
  
"Natalie...? Natalie what are you doing?" Trunks said, backing against the back of his chair with a worried expression. He knew that look meant that she was scheming, and it usually involved him and a heavy dose of embarrassment. Suddenly, she hurled her fists toward him, smearing cake icing all over his face and in his hair. Goten laughed hysterically from where he sat, and Natalie shot him a "you're next" glare, causing him to back away like a frightened child. Trunks then took her by surprise and grabbed a handful of cake, smashing it right in her face. She cried out in surprise, wiping globs of icing off of herself and licking it off of her fingers happily. The purple-haired boy laughed with delight and seemed to transform from the fierce, strong-willed warrior that everyone knew into a little schoolboy playing in the mud. Goten was happy to see his friend like this, and so was Natalie. The trio continued to make mischief, just for the sake of delight. By this time, the rest of the passengers were beginning to tire, as the journey had been very tolling. Bulma had already settled down, burying her head into Vegeta's right shoulder, gripping his arm and wrapping her own around him. He didn't like to show it, but he really loved his mate. Suddenly, his state of contentment was shattered when Goku began snoring once more. Chi-Chi turned red in the face and held his nose shut to waken him.  
  
"Huh? Wha -?" Goku broke off. Chi-Chi had a look on her face that was mixed between anger and embarrassment. "Was I snoring again, honey?" he said, yawning. Chi-Chi just nodded a pathetic "yes". "Oh, sorry. It usually only happens when I sleep on my back." Goku finished and rolled over on his side, falling right back into deep sleep. Pan and Bra had fallen asleep as well, their arms and legs tangled together as they slept fitfully. Gohan had fallen asleep in the back with his glasses on, and Videl was struggling to keep her eyes open. Suddenly, Dr. Briefs' voice came in over the intercom.   
  
"Uh...attention passengers. We still have three and half hours to go, so get comfortable. I'll be turning out the lights in the cabin in a few, so if you have any preparations to make, make them quick. Enjoy the rest of the flight!"   
  
Bulma had now awoken and was rubbing her eyes sleepily.   
  
"Are you going to sleep, dear?" she said to her husband, trying to suppress a yawn Vegeta grunted a reply and shifted positions in his seat, attempting to get comfortable, which isn't really possible on a Trans-Pacific flight. She took this as a yes and snuggled up to him. She could almost detect a slight smile form on his lips as she rested her head on his chest and took her last deep breath before settling in. Videl, by now, had managed to untangle the two young girls and tuck them in, as well as get herself and her husband to sleep. She took small, short breaths as she rested peacefully next to her husband. Chi-Chi and Goku had also managed to get comfortable and fall asleep. Just then, the lights dimmed and then faded out completely, allowing darkness to sink in.   
Meanwhile, Natalie, Goten, and Trunks had all fallen asleep in very peculiar positions on the floor of the recreation room. Bits of cake strewn about the floor made it apparent that they had had a massive food fight. Natalie was curled up into a fetal position, resting on her left side with Trunks and Goten on either side of her, sandwiching her in the middle. The lights went out in the recreation room as well, giving the three a sense of comfort and protection as the jet soared through the night sky. 


	3. Chapter 3

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 3 - Arrival in Paradise  
  
  
Trunks woke suddenly as the airplane touched down onto the runway, jolting all of the passengers. Dr. Briefs turned the engines down and turned up the rear thrusters to slow the plane down.   
  
Trunks thought to himself. He looked at the clock on the wall of the dark room, realizing that it was only 2:30 in the morning, but that meant that in Hawaii it was probably somewhere around 5 or 6:30. Hopefully, their hotel was nearby. He didn't want to sit down any longer than he had to. Suddenly, the lights came on in the cabin and Dr. Briefs' voice came over the announcer. Trunks ignored him and focused on his surroundings, looking for Goten and Natalie. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, realizing that they were lying right behind him.   
  
"What the -!" Trunks cried when he saw his friend practically wrapped around the girl. A pang of jealousy went through him as he broke them apart. "Get up! Get up!" He urged, shaking Natalie. She slowly opened her eyes and stretched, blinking a few times and then rolling over on her other side once again, placing her arm around Goten absentmindedly. Since this obviously wasn't working, he woke up Goten instead.  
  
"Go away, tousan..." Goten mumbled, swatting Trunks away with his hand. Trunks was becoming irritated, and decided to use desperate measures...sortof. He simply picked Natalie up in his arms and left, leaving his friend behind. Trunks opened the door that led to the cabin and headed into the aisle. Vegeta immediately appeared in front of him.   
  
"And just WHERE have you been?" Vegeta hissed demandingly.   
  
"We were just in the back room, dad." Trunks replied sleepily, walking past his confused father and towards his seat. Just then, an angry Goten staggered out of the recreation room and looking at Trunks with a psychotic look in his eyes. Trunks almost dropped Natalie when he saw the boy, and took a few steps backward. Suddenly, Goten bursted into uncontrollable fits of laughter.   
  
"You..." he broke off, laughing. "You actually fell for that!" Goten said, rolling on the floor. Trunks gritted his teeth and growled, turning away and looking for his bag. He was tired, and wasn't in the mood to mess with his friend. Natalie finally stirred, opening her eyes and looking around confusedly. Trunks set the girl down and began to load the bags into his arms. Natalie grabbed her carryon bag and turned to walk off the plane.   
  
"Wait." Someone called to her. Natalie spun around to see Trunks stumbling down the aisle with about five bags in his hands. She sighed and grabbed two from him and continued on. She was so tired that she didn't notice the sudden drop and almost fell when Gohan put his hand out and stopped her from falling.   
  
"Watch out." He said, making sure that she had regained her balance.   
  
"Oh. Thanks." Natalie said, stepping down the stairs and off the jet. As soon as she reached the cement pavement of the runway, she dropped the bags and sighed with relief. The sun would be coming over the horizon shortly. A cool breeze blew off the ocean and stirred Natalie's hair, blowing it into her face. It was a very calm, peaceful scene with dark skies and a perfect temperature. Suddenly, someone shoved a leu (singular form of "lei") over her head.  
  
"Aloha!" a dark skinned Hawaiian woman said, welcoming the Sidra-jin girl to the island. Natalie, who was overcoming the initial shock, forced a smile and turned to wait for Trunks and Goten. Soon, Vegeta emerged with Bulma following. The Saiya-jin prince grumbled as one of the Hawaiian women greeted him.   
  
"Must I wear this stupid necklace?" Vegeta complained to Bulma. She just slapped him on the back.  
  
"Of course you do! It's tradition! Now act pleasant. We'll be at the hotel shortly." Bulma replied.   
  
"Already I don't like this country." Vegeta grumbled, glancing at his mate. She was having a bit of trouble carrying all of the baggage that she had brought, but the fact that Vegeta didn't even offer to carry it for her made it even worse. Seeing the situation, Natalie cleared her throat and nudged him, gesturing towards Bulma. He just rolled his eyes and grabbed the luggage from Bulma's hands, much to her relief.   
  
Soon, Goku and Chi-Chi came out, followed by Bra, Pan, Goten, Gohan, and Videl. Everyone was quite tired and there were a lot of bags to be handled. Fortunately for the women, the guys were all quite capable of taking the load. Natalie wasn't going to resort to that though, and was quite fine carrying her own bags. Bulma pulled out her container of capsules and selected the large aircar to take them out of the airport. When the car had appeared, everyone loaded their bags onto it and took their seats.   
  
"Hey, where's Tousan?" Bulma asked, looking around for her father. Dr. Briefs came out of the airplane and stood on the steps, waving.   
  
"The misses and I are going to tour the states while you're vacationing!" Dr. Briefs shouted. Bulma sighed and waved goodbye to her parents, since there was no arguing with them at this hour. She turned to get into the aircar, but it was already full! Natalie, Pan, and she hadn't even gotten a seat.   
  
"Oh well. Looks like we'll have to improvise." She said to herself. "Girls just find somewhere to sit. I don't care if you have to sit in someone's lap...we're all going to fit in this aircar!" Bulma said, jumping into Vegeta's lap, much to his...delight. Pan jumped into Gohan's lap, and Natalie stood, trying to find a seat.   
  
"Come on, Nat. We have to get going!" Goten said to the girl. She reluctantly stepped into the car and sat in Trunks' lap. Not that he minded.   
  
Soon, everyone was off, blazing through the air towards the hotel. The night air was warm, and the early morning sky was filled with bright stars. Natalie took a deep breath and leaned back on Trunks, resting her head on his shoulder.   
  
It took ten minutes to reach the hotel, but it was worth it. Everyone shuffled out of the car as Bulma called for someone to get his or her bags. When the doorman had everyone's luggage onto a cart, the two families made their way into the hotel, wanting nothing more than to get some rest before the sun rose.   
  
"Okay." Bulma started, walking back from the check-in counter. "We have four suites on the 16th floor. Who's with who?" she asked. It was obvious that the couples wanted to share rooms, which meant that three rooms were already taken. They were then left with Trunks, Goten, Natalie, Bra, and Pan.  
  
"There is NO way I'm getting stuck with them." Trunks said, gesturing to Bra and Pan, who in turn shot him dirty looks.   
  
"We don't want to stay with you anyway!" Pan retorted, running to her father. "I'm staying with daddy!" Gohan shook his head vigorously, knowing that if Pan slept in his room, Bra would surely tag along, and he wanted a decent night's rest.   
  
"The five of us will take the extra room." Goten said, reaching for his bag. It was obvious that he wanted nothing more than to get some sleep, and he wanted to settle things quickly. Bulma and Vegeta exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.  
  
After the room situation had been sorted out, Vegeta just shrugged his shoulders and headed for his room. Everyone else did the same, dragging his or her exhausted bodies into bed. Trunks, Goten, Natalie, Bra, and Pan shuffled into their room, plopping their things down into a corner. There were two king-sized beds in the room, along with sofa, two dressers, three end tables, and a big screen TV. Natalie let out a sigh of relief and curled up in the bed on the far side of the room while Trunks and Goten took the one closest to the door. Pan and Bra snuggled next to Natalie, much to her distaste. By the time everyone had fallen asleep, Natalie had already tried 6 or 7 different positions in the bed. She couldn't fall asleep. Something was nagging at the back of her mind.  
  
she thought to herself as she glanced at the clock on the nightstand. She had been tossing and turning for almost 45 minutes. Not only that, but she was extremely frustrated that she couldn't quite figure out what was bothering her. It wasn't like the feeling she got when Orion arrived. She shuddered just thinking about that. She considered waking Trunks to talk to him, but resisted and got out of bed. She paced around the room, almost knocking into a table, since she wasn't familiar with the layout. she thought. If she weren't careful her ki would rise and wake everyone sensitive to it. She walked over to her bag in search of her CD player. She unzipped the top and began to rummage around inside, when she realized that the suitcase wasn't hers. It was Trunks'.   
  
"Oops." She whispered out loud. She attempted to zip it shut, but it was stuck. "Oh, what now!?" she cried in desperation, but hushed herself for fear of waking the others. Something was blocking the zipper. She formed a very dim ball of light using her ki, and untangled the object. She picked it up and inspected it. It was made of cloth; a shirt of some kind. She looked closer, and realized that it was her shirt! "What the..." she trailed off. It was the shirt that she had lent him on one of the first days that they trained together. She remembered that she gave it to him to wipe his forehead. It smelled like her shampoo. A smile formed on her lips as she thought about Trunks keeping this shirt without even washing it. With that finished, she put the shirt back in place, zipped the suitcase shut, and returned to bed. Just as she settled down and got comfortable, she remembered. "Damn I forgot my CD player." 


	4. Chapter 4

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 4 - Day One  
  
  
Morning came too soon for Natalie who woke with Bra's leg strewn across her chest and Pan's head resting on her stomach. She rolled her eyes and turned to look at the boys, who were still sleeping. Trunks was sleeping on his stomach, with one arm over the edge of the bed, while Goten slept on his back on the other side. She had managed to fall asleep soon after the incident last night, occasionally waking up in the middle of the night for no reason. That was normal for her, though. She was uncomfortable, but she didn't want to disturb the girls.   
  
she asked herself, looking desperately at the ceiling. She could hear moving about in the rooms next to her, signaling that the others were beginning to awaken as well. Suddenly, Goten mumbled something in his sleep and rolled over, which caused Trunks to stir as well. However they still weren't awake. Pan moved around, digging her elbow into Natalie's ribcage. Natalie cried out involuntarily, waking Bra and Pan in the process.  
  
"Are we there yet?" Pan said sleepily. She looked around the room, obviously having forgotten where she was. Bra did the same thing.   
  
"Where's tousan?" she asked.   
  
"He's in the room down the hall." Natalie replied. Then, she suddenly devised a great plan, and a wry smile spread across her face. "Do you want to go see him?" she asked. Bra nodded. "And I suppose Pan will want to come too." Natalie suggested. She scooped the girls up and opened the door to their room quietly. "You see that door right next to us?" Natalie asked the girls as they stepped into the hallway. They nodded in reply. "Bra, your tousan is in there. Why don't you two go wake him up? I'm sure he'll just love to see your faces first thing in the morning."   
  
"Okay!" Bra said joyfully. Natalie zoomed back into the room and jumped into the bed. Within seconds she could hear Vegeta's cries of annoyance. Natalie laughed silently. She was good. Suddenly the door to their room swung open and Vegeta appeared in the doorway. His hair was messed up and he was wearing only a pair of boxers. Natalie quickly shut her eyes and pretended to be sleeping.  
  
"Who did it?" Vegeta asked, with a hint of insanity in his voice. Natalie feigned sleep and sat up in bed, since nobody could have slept through that yell.   
  
"What's going on?" she asked, adding drowsiness to her voice. She was so good at acting, especially if her life was on the line.   
  
"Don't play innocent, girl. I'm aware of what you did." Vegeta replied. Trunks opened his eyes and sat up on his elbows.  
  
"What's the matter dad?" he said, yawning sleepily. Suddenly his eyes shot open "And why aren't you wearing any clothes!?" He cried.   
  
"Your girlfriend over there had the bright idea of sending these two brats into my room to wake me up!" Vegeta growled.   
  
"Oh, chill out Veggie-chan. It's not like you were asleep anyway." Natalie said, trying to calm him down.  
  
"Don't call me Veggie-chan!" Vegeta cried. Natalie snickered and cowered slightly, to show that she was sorry. "Just for this, I'll put you in charge of waking the others. Including Kakarotto." He said, smiling evilly. Natalie's mouth fell open.  
  
"No, please. NOT Kakarotto!" she cried. "You know how he is in the morning!"  
  
"Do it." Vegeta said in a commanding tone, and then shut the door swiftly. Natalie sat back in bed.   
  
Natalie thought to herself. She turned to Trunks for suggestions, but he was trying to smother his laughter. Goten rolled over and opened his eyes, obviously having heard the whole thing.  
  
"Good luck, Nat-chan. You'll need it." He said, smiling sympathetically and sitting up in bed, running his hand through his black mass of hair. Natalie shifted positions, looking out the window.  
  
"I wonder what time it is." Natalie wondered aloud. A quick glance outside told her that it was sometime around midday. She reluctantly dragged herself out of bed and trudged to the bathroom to freshen up. In the middle of washing her face, Trunks walked in, toothbrush in hand. Natalie rinsed her face and dried it with a towel, throwing it at Trunks on her way out. "I suppose I might as well get this over with." She said, and dug through her bad for something to wear. She came across a pair of nylon surf shorts and a white t-shirt. "This will do."   
  
"Hey Nat-chan." Goten said sleepily, throwing his feet off the side of the bed. She looked at him questioningly. "Can you hand be a shirt?" he asked. Natalie realized that he was only in his boxers, having obviously thrown his clothes off the previous night. Not that he looked bad. He and Trunks both were some of the most built guys her age, a fact that she admired with ease.   
  
"Sure" she said, dropping to the floor to search through his bag. She noticed that all of his clothes were perfectly folded and neatly tucked into the suitcase. "Goten I'm impressed." She said. "I didn't think that you had this much talent." She continued to joke.   
  
"I don't. Kaasan packed my things for me." He admitted freely. Natalie let out a quick laugh and continued to carefully search among his things. She finally located a plain white shirt and tossed it to him, proceeding to head for the bathroom to change. She succeeded at kicking Trunks out while she threw her clothes on quickly.   
  
"I guess this is it." She said, emerging from the bathroom and throwing her dirty clothes next to her suitcase. "Wish me luck." She said, and with a wink, left the room. She ventured down the hall, passing Vegeta and Bulma's room, since they were surely awake after the previous incident. Next was Gohan's room. She didn't know this couple very well, considering that she preferred her own generation. She knocked on the door lightly, but without reply, she tried again. Finally, a very sleepy Videl came to the door.  
  
"Hai?" she answered, trying to focus on Natalie's figure. Gohan was in the background, lying flat on his stomach, with half of the covers kicked off of him.  
  
"Uh...Vegeta-san wanted me to wake everyone up. I'm assuming we have plans for the day." Natalie said, unsure of how to act.   
  
"Oh. I'll wake Gohan. Arigatou." She said. Natalie nodded in return as Videl closed the door.   
  
"Now this isn't so bad." Natalie thought consolingly. She then reached Goku's room. "Yet..." she said, and cautiously knocked on the door. There was no answer. She tried again, and still received no reply. After a few more tries, Natalie gathered her courage and tried the doorknob, which happened to be open. She walked into the dark room very slowly, almost afraid of what she would find around the corner. As she got closer, the room came into view. Goku and Chi-Chi both were asleep. Natalie approached the bed, leaning over Goku and debating on whether to tap him on the shoulder or hand. She finally nudged him in the side with her index finger. He didn't respond. Natalie repeated her gesture, this time a little more forcefully. Goku stirred, rolling onto his back.  
  
"Just a few more minutes, Chi-Chi. Come on, get some sleep." He muttered in his sleep. He suddenly reached out for her and grabbed her around the waist, bringing her to his chest and causing her to lie on top of him. He wrapped his other arm around her and held her tightly. Natalie, who was still in shock, didn't know what to do. Obviously he didn't realize that it was her...at least she hoped. She tried to escape his grip without waking Chi-Chi, for fear of how she would react. Unfortunately, Goku held on tight and his arms wouldn't budge.   
  
"Kakarotto!" she whispered harshly, trying to awaken him. She knew he was a heavy sleeper, however, and her attempts proved to be futile. Finally, left with no other choice, she buried her elbow deep into the crevice between his ribcage and his abdominal muscles. He yelped and sat up in bed, causing Natalie to be thrown off of him and onto the floor. She stood up, dazed. Goku looked around the room in confusion, finally locating Natalie on the floor.  
  
"Natalie! What in Dende's sake are you doing here?" he asked. Natalie gathered her thoughts, trying to think of a way to explain herself.   
  
"V-Vegeta sent me into wake you up." She muttered.   
  
"Well what did you go and hit me for? You could have just tapped me in the shoulder." He replied. Natalie's jaw dropped, for that was what she did in the first place. Chi-Chi woke, slowly sitting up as well.  
  
"What's going on here?" she demanded. Natalie, growing frustrated, stood up and explained.   
  
"What happened was I came in here to wake you guys up on Vegeta's orders, and Kakarotto here tried to suffocate me with his deadly grip!" she said, taking a deep breath when she finished to replenish her oxygen supply. Chi-Chi looked at her husband.  
  
"Goku! What did you think you were doing?" she said.   
  
"Honest, Chi-Chi, I have no idea of what she's talking about!" he cried in protest. "I-I must have been sleeping, or something."   
  
"Natalie, are you alright?" Chi-Chi asked. Natalie put her hands on her hips and nodded.   
  
she thought to herself. She exited the room and stormed down the hall towards her room. When she opened the door, she found Trunks and Goten changing clothes. Shocked, she jumped back and slammed the door shut, but then came to her senses. she repeated to herself, and then opened the door once more. Trunks and Goten looked at her with confused looks on their faces.   
  
"Nat? You look...irritated." Trunks said, stepping towards her.   
  
"I am irritated. Your tousan," she said, pointing at Goten, "almost tried to kill me."  
  
"Nani?" Goten said, looking even more confused. Natalie explained the situation to the two boys, who tried not to crack up.  
  
"So, you think it's funny, huh?" she said, folding her arms and shifting her weight. "Well I'll show you what's fun-" she broke off. Suddenly, a force overcame her and she fell to the floor. Everything happened in slow motion. She had a flashback to the past, a past that she couldn't bring herself to recognize. Yet, somehow, it all felt familiar. There was a young girl standing in a long corridor. Her face was covered by a shadow. All of the sudden, something grabbed the little girl and pulled her into the shadows. Suddenly, Natalie was jolted back to reality when Trunks shook her violently.   
  
"Natalie! Nat-chan!" Trunks cried. Goten stood next to him with a worried look on his face. Natalie's eyes focused and she looked around, placing herself in reality. "Natalie! Are you okay? What happened?" Trunks cried.   
  
"I'm not exactly sure..." she said. "But I think...that it was trying to tell me something." 


	5. Chapter 5

Cosmic Crisis 3- A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 5 - Turn of Events  
  
  
On the first day of their vacation, after everyone had been successfully awakened, the two families chose to tour the island. They had all dressed the part, choosing bright colors and flower prints. Even Vegeta was wearing a Hawaiian print shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. After everyone had piled into the aircar, they set out to find a place to eat. Bulma spotted a quaint little café on the side of the road, with a straw roof and bare floors, and suggested that they try it.  
  
"Are you crazy?" Vegeta protested. "It doesn't exactly look like decent eating residence to me."  
  
"Oh, come on Vegeta! You have to enjoy the culture here. It's part of what makes the island so unique." Bulma argued back.   
  
"Besides, I hear they have great chocolate covered macadamia nuts here." Gohan piped in. Vegeta perked up.   
  
"You said chocolate, huh?" he asked. Gohan nodded in reply. "Well I suppose we can tolerate it." Bulma smiled wryly. She knew that Vegeta liked chocolate. It was one of the only "Earth foods" that he favored, besides meat. Trunks liked it as well. It must be a Saiya-jin trait.   
  
"Did someone say chocolate?" Natalie said sleepily from the backseat. It was obvious that she had been resting in the back seat, being crammed in between Trunks and Goten, with Bra in her lap.   
  
"I want chocolate tousan!" Bra said joyfully, bouncing up and down in Natalie's lap. She winced.  
  
"Hey, take it easy there, princess." Natalie said, restraining the six-year-old.   
  
"That's what tousan calls me!" Bra declared. Vegeta turned red and tried to think of an excuse to get him out of this one. Before he could, Bulma had pulled in towards the small café and parked the aircar.  
  
"Let's eat!" she said excitedly, jumping out of the car and onto the grassy dirt-covered ground. Everyone managed to squeeze themselves out as well, and the group headed towards the...unfortunate restaurant. After all, a café of such minute scale would have a hard time recovering from the appetite of eight Saiya-jins.  
  
"We need a table." Bulma said to the waiter as she stepped underneath the roof and into the restaurant.   
  
"How many?" he asked. He was wearing a tight, white tank top undershirt and a pair of baggy denim shorts, no shoes. He had dark hair that was messily arranged on his head, which seemed to contrast nicely with his tanned skin. Natalie quickly counted heads.  
  
"Eleven." She announced, before anyone else could get a chance. She was starving, and wanted to get some food as soon as possible. The waiter suddenly stopped everything he was doing and stared at Natalie like she had sprouted a third arm. "Is...there something wrong?" Natalie asked, waving her hand in front of his face. He suddenly snapped out of his state of shock and cleared his throat.  
  
"This way." The waiter said, leading them to the back of the café. He pulled two tables together and brought some extra chairs so that everyone would have a place to sit. As he was leaving, he stared at Natalie once more, almost knocking over another table on his way. When everyone had taken his or her seat, another waitress came to pass out menus and silverware.  
  
"Which island are we on?" Natalie whispered to Trunks, who was trying to unwrap his fork from his napkin. He shrugged his shoulders, apparently not knowing the answer. Natalie then turned to Vegeta, who was sitting across from her, and asked the same question. Instead, Bulma piped in.  
  
"Tousan told me that we landed on the big island of Hawaii." She said proudly. "Later today, we can head to the beach. I hear this is one of the best places to surf in the states."  
  
"Cool!" Goku said, perking up. "Vegeta and I can out-surf anyone here!"   
  
"Kakarotto are you insane? I've never surfed in my life!" Vegeta objected. "But...being the prince of Saiya-jin, I'm sure I could learn rather quickly."  
  
"Well then, who's up for surfing after we eat?" Videl asked. Everyone raised their hands, including the two young children. Soon after, the same waiter that had seated them came to take their orders.   
  
"I'll take the American breakfast special." Bulma ordered. "And my husband here," she said, pointing to Vegeta, "He will take five of the same." The waiter almost dropped his tablet.   
  
"A-and for you?" he asked, turning towards Chi-Chi.  
  
"Oh, let's see here..." she said, scanning the menu quickly. "I'll have the pancake plate, and Goku will take ten Spanish omelets. We'd also like two coffees." The waiter was now seriously exasperated.   
  
"Don't forget about us!" Gohan said, seizing the waiter's attention. "I think I'll take three of the family special."  
  
"B-but, sir, each serving feeds five very hungry people." The waiter protested.   
  
"I know. I'm not very hungry since I had a snack before we came. And...an extra pancake plate for my wife." He finished, placing his arm around Videl.   
  
"And Pan, what would you like?" Videl asked.   
  
"I want oatmeal!" she said happily. Videl looked a bit squeamish, but ordered it anyway.   
  
"Better make that two servings of oatmeal," Videl said to the waiter, "with fresh fruit on the side."  
  
"The three of us will have an order each of the American breakfast special." Trunks ordered for him, Natalie, and Goten. The waiter was trying desperately to write everything down on the tablet before he lost his mind.  
  
"I want ice cream!" Bra ordered.   
  
"Now, Bra-chan, you can't eat ice cream for breakfast..." Bulma said. "You can have that later."  
  
"But I want ice cream!" Bra whined, becoming upset. Her aura flared slightly, only creating enough power to rattle the silverware on the table and create a small breeze, but the waiter had apparently become alarmed.   
  
"Just bring her a kids breakfast plate." Bulma whispered to the waiter.   
  
"Anything else?" he asked, his voice pitch fluctuating as a sign of his anxiety. Everybody shook his or her heads simultaneously. He stumbled towards the kitchen, almost knocking over the same table again. Natalie laughed.   
  
"I'll bet he's going to go take an aspirin." She joked. A few minutes later, a waitress came with glasses of orange juice and cups of coffee to serve them. Natalie stared at her cup intently.   
  
"Eew...I hate pulp." She complained, watching the small pieces of orange float around in her juice. "It makes me feel like I'm drinking in millions of tiny bugs or something." Trunks and Goten looked at her with disgusted looks on their faces and she just laughed in reply.   
  
Back in the kitchen, waiters and cooks were scrambling around everywhere, trying to prepare the large order of food in a limited time.   
  
"I need a dozen eggs over here, pronto!" one cook barked.   
  
"Where's the bacon!?" cried another.  
  
"Someone hand me the cheese grater!!"  
  
"Hey Goten. I'll bet you ten bucks that I learn to surf before you do." Trunks challenged while everyone waited for their food.   
  
"Make it twenty!" Goten counter-attacked.   
  
"I'll bet you both that I'll learn first!" Natalie said, overpowering the both of them.   
  
"You're on!" they cried in unison.   
  
"Goten! I'm disappointed in you!" Chi-Chi said. "Oh, where did I go wrong? I slaved over that boy for sixteen long years, trying to bring him up like any normal child, and now he's turned into a rebellious gambler!" she cried. Everyone looked at her with sweatdrops.  
  
"Chi-Chi, honey, don't you think you're overreacting to all this? After all, they're only trying to have a little fun!" Goku pleaded.   
  
"I'll show you overreacting mister!!" Chi-Chi shouted. Just as she was about to hurl her fist straight into Goku's face, Natalie suddenly doubled over. She leaned down towards the floor, clutching her head and becoming exceedingly dizzy.   
  
"Nat-chan!" Trunks cried, trying to lift her back up.   
  
"Stop! Don't touch me!" she cried, obviously in a lot of pain. Her entire body began to flicker, fading in and out rapidly.   
  
"What's happening!?" Goten cried, looking down at the girl in shock. Finally, Natalie stopped flickering and she stood extremely still for a couple of seconds, and then collapsed. Trunks rushed over to her and scoped her up in his arms. He checked for a pulse, finding one.   
  
"What should I do?" Trunks asked, looking around frantically.   
  
"Take her to the bathroom and see if you can wake her up with water." Goten said, standing up as well. The two boys headed for the unisex bathroom in the back of the building. On the way, they passed their waiter, who took one look at the scene and shook his head in disbelief. When Trunks got to the sink in the bathroom, Goten turned on the water for him and helped his friend hold up Natalie's limp body while they splashed water on her. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Natalie choked and spewed up water. Trunks set her down where she continued to remove the liquid from her lungs. Finally, she stood op and faced them.   
  
"Are you okay?" Trunks asked. She looked down at her hands, which were intact, and back at Trunks.   
  
"I think so." She said. "But I don't know what happened." She leaned against the bathroom stall in frustration. "I think that it might tie in with that vision I had before. But what does it all mean?" she asked, looking at Trunks in hope of some answers. He and Goten looked at each other and shrugged.   
  
"We can check it out after we eat. Come on, let's go back before our food is served." Goten said. Natalie wrung the water out of her hair and tried to make herself look presentable before she exited the bathroom with Trunks following behind. When they returned to the table, everyone had already received their food. Natalie, Goten, and Trunks sat down and looked at their food hungrily. On each plate, there were two pancakes with syrup, scrambled eggs, bacon, fried ham, fruit salad, and toast with jam.   
  
"This looks so good." Natalie said, and dove into the pancakes, devouring them both in a time span of 30 seconds. Trunks went for the bacon, while Goten chose the eggs. Everyone at the table sat and ate heartily, especially the Saiya-jins. Goku had finished five of his omelets before taking the first drink of orange juice, and Gohan was already on the second helping of his meal. Pan, despite everyone else, was enjoying her oatmeal, but she preferred slinging grapes at her uncle Goten, who just shrugged and caught them in his mouth, much to Pan's delight. After ten minutes, everyone was finished, and they all sat back in their chairs and held their stomachs.   
  
"American food sure is filling." Goku said, burping.   
  
"Check please!" Bulma called to the waiter. He walked over, and to his amazement, every scrap of food had been ingested and plates had been scraped clean of all edible residue. He then looked at Natalie with that same, bewildered expression on his face as he handed Bulma the bill.   
  
"What is the matter with you?" Natalie shouted. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"  
  
"Nat-chan, I think it's your tail." Goten said subtly. She looked back at the long, furry attachment and swung it around in the air like an eager kitten.   
  
"Oh, this?" she asked, continuing to wave it about. "Pretty cool, ne?" she said, looking back at the waiter, who had now fainted onto the floor. Bulma left the money on the table and the group all headed back towards the aircar.   
  
"Next stop..." Trunks started.   
  
"The beach!" Goten shouted excitedly.   
  
"Iie, we have to go back to the hotel to get our swimsuits." Bulma said.   
  
"Hai. Unlike you two," Natalie said, placing her fingers on the torsos of Trunks and Goten, "we didn't wear our bathing suits to breakfast!" The two boys put their hands behind their heads in embarrassment as everyone turned to look at them.   
  
"Well...shouldn't we be heading back now?" Trunks said, breaking the ice. Everyone nodded and crammed their bodies into the aircar again.   
  
"I should have brought two aircar capsules; I can't believe I didn't think of it before." Bulma commented while she zoomed down the road, through the scenic area with lush, green forestry and a cloudless blue sky. They passed a clearing and there was a breathtaking view of Mt. Kilauea, one of the islands major volcanoes.   
  
"Wow, what a sight." Natalie commented, looking at it with eager eyes, like a small child.   
  
"The Hawaii Volcano Observatory is on the rim of Kilauea Crater." Bulma explained, flipping through a tourist guide. "We should go check it out sometime."  
  
"Not now. Surfing is definitely number one on my priority list!" Trunks said. Natalie punched him in the ribs.  
  
"Just be patient, Trunks-kun. We have over a week to spend here. The ocean won't dry up before you get a chance to surf!" she said.   
  
"Yes, mother." Trunks said sarcastically.   
  
"Look here, you two aren't even engaged yet and already you're fighting like a married couple!" Goten joked, much to Natalie and Trunks' displeasure. They looked at him with discontent on their faces and Goten immediately backed off. A few minutes later they had reached the hotel, and everyone raced in to get his or her respective swimsuits. Bulma parked the aircar and called out to everyone.  
  
"After you guys get ready, you can meet us on the beach. There's no need to waste energy flying the aircar when the beach isn't even a mile away!" Bulma instructed. She then realized that nobody was listening to her and eventually gave up. I swear it's getting worse every day... she thought to herself, sighing.   
  
Inside the hotel, the five kids headed for their room to change. Trunks and Goten had already come prepared, so they simply waited for the girls to finish. Bra and Pan were already in the bathroom, so Natalie resorted to desperate measures.   
  
"Now, Trunks, Goten...I'm trusting you two. Turn around, and don't look!" she said, holding her bikini in her hands. They shrugged and turned to face the door while Natalie changed into her swimsuit. In the middle of her undressing, Bra burst out of the bathroom and gasped in shock.  
  
"Natalie's naked!" she cried.   
  
"I am not naked!" Natalie retorted, covering her torso with one of Trunks' shirts. She quickly ran behind a plastic palm tree and slipped into her top piece. When she was finished, she threw the shirt on top of Bra. Pan then emerged from the bathroom as well, wearing a red two-piece bathing suit with frilly trim and a little skirt to cover her rear. Bra was wearing a simple, green one-piece with the Capsule Corp. logo on the upper chest region. Trunks and Goten stood up and slung towels over their shoulders.   
  
"Ready?" they said in unison, turning to Natalie.   
  
"Hold on..." she whined, digging through her suitcase. "I can't find my sun screen..." Various items flew across the room as Natalie searched for her SPF 30. Then, just as before, she fell to the floor, clutching her head. Her body began to dematerialize right before her eyes as she stared at herself in horror. Trunks and Goten stood in mortal shock, not knowing what to do; not reacting. Natalie would go in and out of convulsions as her body struggled to keep its stability. Finally, her form solidified and she fell to the ground. There was a sudden knocking at the door, snapping Trunks and Goten out of their trances. Goten ran to open the door, revealing an impatient Vegeta and Bulma.  
  
"What's taking so-" Vegeta broke off as he saw Trunks standing over Natalie's collapsed figure. His skin started to prick up and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. It seemed that the same force that was controlling Natalie's fits of temporary distortion was also affecting him. No sooner, Trunks started to morph as well, becoming hazy and faint. Finally, it all ended and the two Saiya-jins stood in place, clutching their chests and panting.   
  
"N-nani?" Bulma said, taking a step back in terror. Goten rushed over and steadied her.   
  
"Easy, Bulma-san." He said. "We need to figure out what's happening to them."  
  
"H-h-hai." She stuttered. Shaking, she stepped forward and held Vegeta in her arms. He clenched his teeth in anger.  
  
"I can...handle myself..." he said.   
  
"No!" Bulma insisted. "Let me help." She said, and helped him over to the bed closest to them. Trunks managed to drag Natalie and himself onto the other bed. "Where's Goku-san when you need him?" Bulma said.   
  
"What do you need tousan for?" Goten inquired.   
  
"I need him to teleport me back home so I can gather some resources." She said. "I have a slight hunch, but I need to know for sure."  
  
The two headed out towards the beach to find Goku, while Natalie, Vegeta, and Trunks all rested in the hotel room with Bra and Pan watching over them.   
  
"I wonder what happened, Pan-chan." Bra said, watching her father. Pan just shrugged her shoulders, being too young to understand the situation. Natalie slowly awoke from unconsciousness and sat up on her elbows. She noticed that Trunks and Vegeta were also out cold, and looked at Bra in question.   
  
"What happened here?" Natalie asked, sitting up completely in alarm. "Where's Goten?"  
  
"They went to find Goku." Bra said.   
  
"They?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Kaasan went too." Bra explained. Natalie leaned over Trunks and watched his chest rise and fall with each breath. She rested her head on his chest and listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. She felt warm and safe, and she closed her eyes slowly, allowing herself to relax. Just then, Bulma, Goten, and Goku appeared inside the room with several technical pieces of equipment in stow. Natalie opened her eyes quickly and sat up.   
  
"Kakarotto-san?" she said. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Oh, Bulma-san wanted me to teleport to Capsule Corp." he replied, looking over at Bulma, who was already setting up her equipment on top of the cedar chest. Goten stood over her shoulder and watched, not making any sense of the figures and graphs that she was pulling up on the screen.   
  
"Just as I thought." Bulma said, typing vigorously on the keyboard.   
  
"Nani?" Natalie said in confusion. Bulma looked back at her with deep concern in her eyes.   
  
"It's a time paradox." 


	6. Chapter 6

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 7 - Hope  
  
  
Bulma stared at her mate in disbelief.   
  
"Gone?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "S-she can't be!" Vegeta looked into her eyes and nodded his head. He was actually being considerate of her tender emotions.   
  
"It's my fault." Trunks said, his voice low and dangerous.  
  
"Trunks don't blame yourself." Goten said, putting his hand on Trunks' shoulder in support.  
  
"I said it was my fault God DAMNIT!" he cried. Everyone took a few steps back in alarm. "I did this to her...and now she's gone." Trunks looked down at his hands again and a tear splashed in his palm.   
  
"Trunks we'll bring her back...somehow." Bulma said comfortingly.   
  
"No...we won't. I got her into this so I'm going to get her out." Trunks said. He looked at his mother with an obstinate look on his face. "Kaasan you have to find her."  
  
"I'm trying, Trunks-kun." She said. Vegeta turned to Trunks and began to say something, but he began to fade out as well. Bulma's eyes widened and she reached out for him, but her hand went through him. "Vegeta!" Bulma cried. She tried to grip her arms around him but it proved to be worthless. His body finally came to a standstill and he collapsed in the water. Bulma dove under the surface of the water, frantically probing the water for his body. She finally managed to grab him by the arm and drag him to the surface where Goku took him into his arms and flew him back to the shore. Bulma, who was now out of breath, was having trouble swimming back to the shore. Goten and the very distraught Trunks headed inward as well. As Goku landed on the beach with Vegeta in tow, Bulma raced over to him.   
  
"Bulma, calm down." Goku said, feeling Vegeta's neck for a pulse.   
  
"Goku, is he okay!? Is he going to make it?" Bulma cried. A panic-stricken Chi-Chi swiftly ran towards the scene.   
  
"What's happening now!?" she wailed. Bulma looked at Chi-Chi angrily.   
  
"Chi-Chi you're in the way!' Bulma cried. "Just back off." Chi-Chi stepped back and looked at Bulma with a hurt expression on her face.   
  
"Chi-Chi, honey, what Bulma means is that there are too many people over here." Goku said. Chi-Chi nodded and returned to the towel where Videl was talking to Gohan.   
  
"Goku, is he breathing? Is he okay? What happened?" Bulma said, shooting a series of questions at him before he could begin to answer.   
  
"Bulma, you would know better than I would." Goku said. Suddenly there was an explosion from where Trunks and Goten were standing near the shore. Goku and Bulma spun around to see Trunks in super Saiya-jin form with his fists up, glaring at a very confused Goten. Bulma looked desperately at Goku.  
  
"This is starting to fall apart." She said. "If we don't do something now, our world as we know it will fade from existence and we will be helpless to stop it." Goku looked at Bulma with a stern expression on his face. "I think...." Bulma trailed off as a tear ran down her face and landed in the warm sand. "That it's out of our control."  
  
"Bulma!" Goku said, shaking her. "Listen to yourself! That isn't you talking." Bulma continued to cry. "If anyone can get us out of this mess, it's you."  
  
"NO...I can't do any more than the next person." Bulma said in between sobs.  
  
"Bulma-san...don't give up. I believe in you. Vegeta is counting on you." Goku continued, trying to convince her than she was wrong. Bulma looked down at Vegeta's body resting on the sand.   
  
"It's funny..." she started. "You never really realize how much you have until you lose it." She turned back to Goku. "It wasn't until now that I truly appreciated how much I loved him."  
  
"Than you need to do this...for him." Goku said. Bulma nodded. "You still have a chance." They suddenly heard a cry and turned back to Trunks, who now had Goten pinned against the sand, his teeth clenched. Goku rushed over and pried the delirious Saiya-jin boy off of his son. "Trunks! What in Kami's name do you think you are doing?"  
  
"That low class bastard doesn't deserve to live." Trunks growled, trying to break free of Goku's grip.   
  
"Trunks snap out of it." Goku shouted. "Goten is your best friend!" Trunks glared at Goten, threatening him with his lethal glare and his bright aura, but he knew that he didn't stand a chance against Goku as well. He finally lowered his ki and powered down. "What's gotten into you?" Goku asked, still keeping hold of Trunks' wrists.  
  
"Kakarotto you know I've never liked your brat." Trunks answered. Goku looked stunned. Trunks never called him "Kakarotto", and he didn't refer to his kids as "brats". Only Vegeta did that.   
  
Goku thought to himself as he stared into Trunks blue eyes, which had a coldness about them.   
  
"Goku-san, is everything alright?" Bulma asked. Goku looked at her and shook his head.  
  
"Iie, it's getting worse by the minute." He replied. Bulma looked over at the towel where Chi-Chi and Videl sat, watching them. "Trunks...he's acting very strange."  
  
"Oh no." Bulma said. "I have to get to work on trying to create a piece of equipment to block the time shift from affecting the present, even if it's only temporary." Bulma said. Goku looked at her, confused.   
  
"Well, I don't know what you just said, but good luck." He said. Bulma nodded her head and smiled at him.   
  
"Take your third class hands off of me!" Trunks said, tearing away from Goku's grip. Vegeta started to awaken and looked around confusedly. He could see Trunks' blurry figure and make out what he was saying. "Don't you know how to treat a prince of Saiya-jin?" Trunks hissed. "If my father were here he'd teach you some respect!" Vegeta blinked his eyes, not believing what he saw. Trunks, his son, was acting just like...him. And he didn't like it. Vegeta stood up.  
  
"Stop this, boy." He ordered. Bulma happily embraced Vegeta while he stood, unfazed. Trunks looked at Vegeta with wide-eyed shock written all over his face.  
  
"T-tousan?" he said. "No...you're not him. My tousan wouldn't associate with these low class fools!"  
  
"Trunks!" Vegeta shouted. "What are you doing!? You've never thought of Kakarotto or his offspring as low class!" Trunks stared intently at his father for a few seconds before grabbing his head and falling to the ground. He looked as if someone was cutting off his oxygen supply and he was struggling to breathe. Vegeta and Bulma rushed over to him as Bra and Pan walked towards Chi-Chi and Videl.   
  
"Kaasan, what's wrong with Trunks-san?" Pan asked her mother. Videl was transfixed on the scene and didn't hear her daughter's question. "Kaasan?" Pan continued.   
  
"Nani? Oh, Pan-chan. Did you seed something?" Videl said.   
  
"Hai. What's wrong with Trunks-san?" Pan asked again.  
  
"I don't know, Pan-chan. But we should stay out of the way, okay?" Videl replied. Pan and Bra nodded their heads happily.   
  
Meanwhile, Bulma was hovering over the body of her son, trying to help him.   
  
"Trunks...Trunks can you hear me?" she said, shaking him. He was still holding his head and clenching his teeth in pain. Vegeta pushed her aside.  
  
"You go work on your equipment. I'll take care of him." He said. Bulma looked at him and then turned away to get her resources. Vegeta shook his son, more violently than Bulma had. "Hey, boy. Trunks." Vegeta said. "Say something, boy." Trunks opened his eyes and looked around. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead and onto his nose.   
  
"T-tousan..." he said through his compressed jaw. "Nat-chan..."  
  
"Hey, boy. Get a grip on yourself. Just relax." Vegeta said, trying to calm the boy down. Finally after a few minutes, Trunks managed to relax for the most part. He never fell unconscious, which was never decided to be good or bad. Trunks sat down on a beach towel and brought his knees to his chest. Goten and Goku tried to talk to him, but all he would do was stare down at the ground. He couldn't bring himself to accept what he had done. Bulma suddenly rushed over to where Goku and Vegeta were standing.   
  
"I think I've done it!" she cried happily. Goku and Vegeta turned around to face her. "Check this out." Bulma said, and pulled up the time chart on her screen again. "Basically, I took the data used in the Hope time machine, and applied their concepts to the present." She explained. "If it works, it should neutralize the effects of the time shift, and prevent it from taking affect in the present time." Goku and Vegeta stared at her with perplexed expressions on their faces. Bulma then realized that they had no idea of what she was talking about. "In layman's terms, I have found a solution to the time problem." Goku and Vegeta snapped out of their stupors and laughed nervously as Bulma stared at them with a dull expression on her face. I guess it's what I get for being a genius she thought to herself. "Now I need to put this theory into action. I'm almost positive that it will work." She said.  
  
"And what if it doesn't" Vegeta protested. Bulma looked nervous.  
  
"Well...there's a slight chance that it will backfire. If it does..." she trailed off, biting her lower lip.  
  
"Well what, woman?" Vegeta demanded.   
  
"If it does than there's a possibility that we would be erased from this timeframe and/or dimension." She said, looking down at the ground. She was almost afraid to look up at Vegeta for what his reaction would be. After a long pause, she stole a glance at him. Much to her surprise, she saw a crooked smile on his face. She tilted her head back up to face him and was about to speak, when she was cut off.  
  
"You're a genius." He said, kissing her forehead. Bulma's jaw fell open in surprise. "Just make sure you test it on Kakarotto." He continued, sneering. Bulma's mouth formed an ecstatic smile and she jumped into his arms.   
  
"Veggie-chan dai suki." She whispered into his ear. Vegeta blushed slightly and looked around to make sure that nobody was looking. She finally let him free of her grip and grabbed her laptop, tucking it under her arm.   
  
"I need Goku to teleport me back home so I can get to work on this immediately." She said, heading over to Goku, who was comforting a very distraught Chi-Chi. She passed Trunks on the way and she almost stopped in her tracks. She hardly ever saw Trunks so torn up. Her heart ached for her little boy, an ache that gave her new determination. Bulma thought to herself. She was so focused on Trunks that she almost smacked straight into Goku. Fortunately for her, he anticipated her move and reached out to stop her.  
  
"Careful there, Bulma." He said. She jumped back in surprise.  
  
"Gomen nasai Goku." She apologized. "I need your help."  
  
"Mine? Sure, what can I do for you?" he asked, standing up and brushing the sand off of his body.   
  
"I need to teleport me back to Capsule Corp." she answered. "I'm going to build this contrivance if it's the last thing I do." Goku smiled at her.   
  
"I never lost faith in you, Bulma-san." He said.   
  
"Arigatou." She said. Goku placed his hand on her shoulder and used the other to place his two forefingers on his forehead. He closed his eyes and concentrated, and within a few seconds, he and Bulma were gone.   
  
No more than a few seconds later, the duo appeared in the dark lab of Capsule Corporation. Bulma walked over to the door and flipped on the light, and the low hum of the UV bulbs started up. She set her laptop down on the counter forcibly and started to type. She pulled up the time graph again and studied it.  
  
"Alright. I need to program this baby to counterbalance the affects of this shift, therefore, preventing it from taking it's toll on us." Bulma said. She ran over to a pile of scraps in the corner and grabbed a microchip. "I was planning on using this for the new Hope time machine I was building, but I guess this is more important." She continued. Goku, however, just looked confounded.  
  
"Is...there anything I can do to help?" he asked. Bulma was using a microscope and an array of infinitesimal tools to program information and statistics into the chip.  
  
"Did you say something?" Bulma said, looking up from the microscope temporarily.   
  
"Nevermind." Goku said. Bulma shrugged and turned back to her work. Goku decided to help himself to something to eat, and left the lab. Bulma paid him no attention and continued to work. Goku worked his way through the many halls and corridors of Capsule Corp., and finally reached the main living quarters. He headed for the kitchen, and then to the refrigerator. As he dug through the contents, he heard a loud cry from the area where Bulma was. Alarmed, he dropped his food and raced back to her. When he arrived on the scene, he saw Bulma, grinning from ear to ear, holding the microchip in her hands. She looked up at Goku and exclaimed.  
  
"I've done it!" 


	7. Chapter 7

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 7 - Hope  
  
  
Bulma stared at her mate in disbelief.   
  
"Gone?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "S-she can't be!" Vegeta looked into her eyes and nodded his head. He was actually being considerate of her tender emotions.   
  
"It's my fault." Trunks said, his voice low and dangerous.  
  
"Trunks don't blame yourself." Goten said, putting his hand on Trunks' shoulder in support.  
  
"I said it was my fault God DAMNIT!" he cried. Everyone took a few steps back in alarm. "I did this to her...and now she's gone." Trunks looked down at his hands again and a tear splashed in his palm.   
  
"Trunks we'll bring her back...somehow." Bulma said comfortingly.   
  
"No...we won't. I got her into this so I'm going to get her out." Trunks said. He looked at his mother with an obstinate look on his face. "Kaasan you have to find her."  
  
"I'm trying, Trunks-kun." She said. Vegeta turned to Trunks and began to say something, but he began to fade out as well. Bulma's eyes widened and she reached out for him, but her hand went through him. "Vegeta!" Bulma cried. She tried to grip her arms around him but it proved to be worthless. His body finally came to a standstill and he collapsed in the water. Bulma dove under the surface of the water, frantically probing the water for his body. She finally managed to grab him by the arm and drag him to the surface where Goku took him into his arms and flew him back to the shore. Bulma, who was now out of breath, was having trouble swimming back to the shore. Goten and the very distraught Trunks headed inward as well. As Goku landed on the beach with Vegeta in tow, Bulma raced over to him.   
  
"Bulma, calm down." Goku said, feeling Vegeta's neck for a pulse.   
  
"Goku, is he okay!? Is he going to make it?" Bulma cried. A panic-stricken Chi-Chi swiftly ran towards the scene.   
  
"What's happening now!?" she wailed. Bulma looked at Chi-Chi angrily.   
  
"Chi-Chi you're in the way!' Bulma cried. "Just back off." Chi-Chi stepped back and looked at Bulma with a hurt expression on her face.   
  
"Chi-Chi, honey, what Bulma means is that there are too many people over here." Goku said. Chi-Chi nodded and returned to the towel where Videl was talking to Gohan.   
  
"Goku, is he breathing? Is he okay? What happened?" Bulma said, shooting a series of questions at him before he could begin to answer.   
  
"Bulma, you would know better than I would." Goku said. Suddenly there was an explosion from where Trunks and Goten were standing near the shore. Goku and Bulma spun around to see Trunks in super Saiya-jin form with his fists up, glaring at a very confused Goten. Bulma looked desperately at Goku.  
  
"This is starting to fall apart." She said. "If we don't do something now, our world as we know it will fade from existence and we will be helpless to stop it." Goku looked at Bulma with a stern expression on his face. "I think...." Bulma trailed off as a tear ran down her face and landed in the warm sand. "That it's out of our control."  
  
"Bulma!" Goku said, shaking her. "Listen to yourself! That isn't you talking." Bulma continued to cry. "If anyone can get us out of this mess, it's you."  
  
"NO...I can't do any more than the next person." Bulma said in between sobs.  
  
"Bulma-san...don't give up. I believe in you. Vegeta is counting on you." Goku continued, trying to convince her than she was wrong. Bulma looked down at Vegeta's body resting on the sand.   
  
"It's funny..." she started. "You never really realize how much you have until you lose it." She turned back to Goku. "It wasn't until now that I truly appreciated how much I loved him."  
  
"Than you need to do this...for him." Goku said. Bulma nodded. "You still have a chance." They suddenly heard a cry and turned back to Trunks, who now had Goten pinned against the sand, his teeth clenched. Goku rushed over and pried the delirious Saiya-jin boy off of his son. "Trunks! What in Kami's name do you think you are doing?"  
  
"That low class bastard doesn't deserve to live." Trunks growled, trying to break free of Goku's grip.   
  
"Trunks snap out of it." Goku shouted. "Goten is your best friend!" Trunks glared at Goten, threatening him with his lethal glare and his bright aura, but he knew that he didn't stand a chance against Goku as well. He finally lowered his ki and powered down. "What's gotten into you?" Goku asked, still keeping hold of Trunks' wrists.  
  
"Kakarotto you know I've never liked your brat." Trunks answered. Goku looked stunned. Trunks never called him "Kakarotto", and he didn't refer to his kids as "brats". Only Vegeta did that.   
  
Goku thought to himself as he stared into Trunks blue eyes, which had a coldness about them.   
  
"Goku-san, is everything alright?" Bulma asked. Goku looked at her and shook his head.  
  
"Iie, it's getting worse by the minute." He replied. Bulma looked over at the towel where Chi-Chi and Videl sat, watching them. "Trunks...he's acting very strange."  
  
"Oh no." Bulma said. "I have to get to work on trying to create a piece of equipment to block the time shift from affecting the present, even if it's only temporary." Bulma said. Goku looked at her, confused.   
  
"Well, I don't know what you just said, but good luck." He said. Bulma nodded her head and smiled at him.   
  
"Take your third class hands off of me!" Trunks said, tearing away from Goku's grip. Vegeta started to awaken and looked around confusedly. He could see Trunks' blurry figure and make out what he was saying. "Don't you know how to treat a prince of Saiya-jin?" Trunks hissed. "If my father were here he'd teach you some respect!" Vegeta blinked his eyes, not believing what he saw. Trunks, his son, was acting just like...him. And he didn't like it. Vegeta stood up.  
  
"Stop this, boy." He ordered. Bulma happily embraced Vegeta while he stood, unfazed. Trunks looked at Vegeta with wide-eyed shock written all over his face.  
  
"T-tousan?" he said. "No...you're not him. My tousan wouldn't associate with these low class fools!"  
  
"Trunks!" Vegeta shouted. "What are you doing!? You've never thought of Kakarotto or his offspring as low class!" Trunks stared intently at his father for a few seconds before grabbing his head and falling to the ground. He looked as if someone was cutting off his oxygen supply and he was struggling to breathe. Vegeta and Bulma rushed over to him as Bra and Pan walked towards Chi-Chi and Videl.   
  
"Kaasan, what's wrong with Trunks-san?" Pan asked her mother. Videl was transfixed on the scene and didn't hear her daughter's question. "Kaasan?" Pan continued.   
  
"Nani? Oh, Pan-chan. Did you seed something?" Videl said.   
  
"Hai. What's wrong with Trunks-san?" Pan asked again.  
  
"I don't know, Pan-chan. But we should stay out of the way, okay?" Videl replied. Pan and Bra nodded their heads happily.   
  
Meanwhile, Bulma was hovering over the body of her son, trying to help him.   
  
"Trunks...Trunks can you hear me?" she said, shaking him. He was still holding his head and clenching his teeth in pain. Vegeta pushed her aside.  
  
"You go work on your equipment. I'll take care of him." He said. Bulma looked at him and then turned away to get her resources. Vegeta shook his son, more violently than Bulma had. "Hey, boy. Trunks." Vegeta said. "Say something, boy." Trunks opened his eyes and looked around. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead and onto his nose.   
  
"T-tousan..." he said through his compressed jaw. "Nat-chan..."  
  
"Hey, boy. Get a grip on yourself. Just relax." Vegeta said, trying to calm the boy down. Finally after a few minutes, Trunks managed to relax for the most part. He never fell unconscious, which was never decided to be good or bad. Trunks sat down on a beach towel and brought his knees to his chest. Goten and Goku tried to talk to him, but all he would do was stare down at the ground. He couldn't bring himself to accept what he had done. Bulma suddenly rushed over to where Goku and Vegeta were standing.   
  
"I think I've done it!" she cried happily. Goku and Vegeta turned around to face her. "Check this out." Bulma said, and pulled up the time chart on her screen again. "Basically, I took the data used in the Hope time machine, and applied their concepts to the present." She explained. "If it works, it should neutralize the effects of the time shift, and prevent it from taking affect in the present time." Goku and Vegeta stared at her with perplexed expressions on their faces. Bulma then realized that they had no idea of what she was talking about. "In layman's terms, I have found a solution to the time problem." Goku and Vegeta snapped out of their stupors and laughed nervously as Bulma stared at them with a dull expression on her face. I guess it's what I get for being a genius she thought to herself. "Now I need to put this theory into action. I'm almost positive that it will work." She said.  
  
"And what if it doesn't" Vegeta protested. Bulma looked nervous.  
  
"Well...there's a slight chance that it will backfire. If it does..." she trailed off, biting her lower lip.  
  
"Well what, woman?" Vegeta demanded.   
  
"If it does than there's a possibility that we would be erased from this timeframe and/or dimension." She said, looking down at the ground. She was almost afraid to look up at Vegeta for what his reaction would be. After a long pause, she stole a glance at him. Much to her surprise, she saw a crooked smile on his face. She tilted her head back up to face him and was about to speak, when she was cut off.  
  
"You're a genius." He said, kissing her forehead. Bulma's jaw fell open in surprise. "Just make sure you test it on Kakarotto." He continued, sneering. Bulma's mouth formed an ecstatic smile and she jumped into his arms.   
  
"Veggie-chan dai suki." She whispered into his ear. Vegeta blushed slightly and looked around to make sure that nobody was looking. She finally let him free of her grip and grabbed her laptop, tucking it under her arm.   
  
"I need Goku to teleport me back home so I can get to work on this immediately." She said, heading over to Goku, who was comforting a very distraught Chi-Chi. She passed Trunks on the way and she almost stopped in her tracks. She hardly ever saw Trunks so torn up. Her heart ached for her little boy, an ache that gave her new determination. Bulma thought to herself. She was so focused on Trunks that she almost smacked straight into Goku. Fortunately for her, he anticipated her move and reached out to stop her.  
  
"Careful there, Bulma." He said. She jumped back in surprise.  
  
"Gomen nasai Goku." She apologized. "I need your help."  
  
"Mine? Sure, what can I do for you?" he asked, standing up and brushing the sand off of his body.   
  
"I need to teleport me back to Capsule Corp." she answered. "I'm going to build this contrivance if it's the last thing I do." Goku smiled at her.   
  
"I never lost faith in you, Bulma-san." He said.   
  
"Arigatou." She said. Goku placed his hand on her shoulder and used the other to place his two forefingers on his forehead. He closed his eyes and concentrated, and within a few seconds, he and Bulma were gone.   
  
No more than a few seconds later, the duo appeared in the dark lab of Capsule Corporation. Bulma walked over to the door and flipped on the light, and the low hum of the UV bulbs started up. She set her laptop down on the counter forcibly and started to type. She pulled up the time graph again and studied it.  
  
"Alright. I need to program this baby to counterbalance the affects of this shift, therefore, preventing it from taking it's toll on us." Bulma said. She ran over to a pile of scraps in the corner and grabbed a microchip. "I was planning on using this for the new Hope time machine I was building, but I guess this is more important." She continued. Goku, however, just looked confounded.  
  
"Is...there anything I can do to help?" he asked. Bulma was using a microscope and an array of infinitesimal tools to program information and statistics into the chip.  
  
"Did you say something?" Bulma said, looking up from the microscope temporarily.   
  
"Nevermind." Goku said. Bulma shrugged and turned back to her work. Goku decided to help himself to something to eat, and left the lab. Bulma paid him no attention and continued to work. Goku worked his way through the many halls and corridors of Capsule Corp., and finally reached the main living quarters. He headed for the kitchen, and then to the refrigerator. As he dug through the contents, he heard a loud cry from the area where Bulma was. Alarmed, he dropped his food and raced back to her. When he arrived on the scene, he saw Bulma, grinning from ear to ear, holding the microchip in her hands. She looked up at Goku and exclaimed.  
  
"I've done it!" 


	8. Chapter 8

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 8 - Infatuation  
  
  
Bulma held the microchip in her hands, beaming with pride.  
  
"I've done it Goku-san!" she said. "Now all I have to do is install it in a machine to put it into effect. This will be a piece of cake!"  
  
"I knew you could do it, Bulma." Goku said happily.   
  
"Come on." Bulma said, grabbing a bad full of technical equipment. "Let's get back before everyone starts to worry."  
  
"Hai." Goku said. He stepped towards Bulma and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You got everything?" he asked.  
  
"I do." She replied, hoisting the bad onto her hip. Goku placed his two forefingers on his forehead and they were teleported back to Hawaii. When they arrived, everything was the same as when they left, with the exception that Bra and Pan were playing near the shore instead of sitting with Chi-Chi and Videl. Vegeta, who had been sitting alone on the beach, acknowledged the presence of Goku and his mate, and sprang to his feet.  
  
"Well?" he said, almost demandingly. Bulma dug in her bag and pulled out the microchip.  
  
"This is the key to our problem." She said proudly. "I've brought a chip duplicator to make several of these, and then I need to hook them up to a generator." She explained. Vegeta stared at her, his left eye twitching. She then grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the beach. "Come on." She said, pulling him. "I need to do this somewhere else because I don't want to risk sand getting into the machines."   
  
"Why do you want me!?" Vegeta protested.   
  
"Because I said so." Bulma said sternly, but happily. Vegeta just sighed and relented to his mate.   
  
Meanwhile, on the beach, Bra and Pan were splashing in the water, which was up to their waists. They had also gathered several fragments of shells, which they placed on the sand for safekeeping.   
  
"Bra." Pan said in her tiny little voice. Bra stopped splashing and looked at her young friend.  
  
"Nani Pan-chan?" she replied.  
  
"Where is Nat-chan?" she asked. "I don't see her nowhere."  
  
"I dunno." Bra replied, scanning the beach. "Maybe she's with Niichan." She trailed off.  
  
"I can't feel her no more." Pan commented.  
  
"Me neither." Bra said. They then dismissed the thought and continued to splash in the ocean.   
  
  
Later that day, after everyone had gotten bored with the beach, the groups had headed inside, and were taking a break in their respective rooms. Bulma was finishing up the last of her inventions while Vegeta showered.   
  
Trunks sat in his room, still huddled up in the corner. Her was staring at Natalie's bag, with her clothes strewn about. Goten had warned Pan and Bra to keep their distance from him, to avoid any serious problems. In his mind, Trunks kept hearing a far away echo of Natalie's voice, and the beach scene kept replaying in his mind. Goten was debating on whether to say something to Trunks, but his instincts told him to forget about it. There was no way he was going to risk Trunks losing control again. There were too many lives at stake. Suddenly, there was an excited knock on the door, causing Trunks to snap out of his reverie. Goten jumped up to answer it, and as he opened the door, a very eager Bulma charged into the room with an armload of equipment.   
  
"I did it you guys!" she said. "I am such a genius!" Trunks glared at her.  
  
"Too bad you couldn't have done it in time to save others." He said icily. Bulma withdrew and looked wounded.  
  
"Trunks...you know I would have saved Natalie if I had gotten the chance." She said. Trunks just looked away from her in disgust.  
  
"This is fucked up." He shouted, pummeling his fist into the bed. "Even if your little inventions do work they can't bring Natalie back." Bulma went from being hurt to angry.  
  
"Listen here, Trunks!" she shouted. Trunks looked at her in shock. "I know there is no doubt in your mind that I am very attached to Natalie as well, and I didn't allow her to disappear purposely! If you would open your mind a little, maybe you would see that I'm trying here! It's more than you can say for yourself! All you do is sit alone and stare at the wall!" she said, inhaling deeply and becoming flushed with fury. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go formulate a time traveling plan!" she berated, and stormed out of the room, leaving behind a very stunned Trunks and Goten.  
  
"I guess she wasn't in the mood to take any shit, was she?" Goten commented. Trunks looked down at the floor.  
  
"I deserved that. She worked so hard and all I could do was place the blame on her." Trunks said. "I-I just...I can't explain it, Goten. I know it sounds corny, but I don't know how I would live without her."  
  
"Don't worry about it Trunks. My only regret is that I don't know what it's like to feel deep love for someone." Goten trailed off. Trunks looked at his friend and then allowed a faint smile to form on his lips.  
  
"Look at us, Goten. We're a couple of saps, aren't we?" he said. Goten smirked and walked across the room as he took his shirt off.   
  
"Whatever you say, your highness. Anyway, I'm gonna get in the shower." Goten said. Trunks nodded as Goten walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Trunks turned back to Natalie's bag, and sighed. It stabbed at his heart, just knowing what Natalie must have felt as he held her neck in his iron grip. The agony of it all was punishment enough, and Trunks well knew that when and if they brought her back, she would be extremely distrustful of him. Hell he'd be surprised if she even spoke to him again. Just then, at the high point of his frustration, Bra and Pan just happened to walk into the room.  
  
"Hi Niichan!" Bra said. Trunks looked at her with a contemptuous look on his face, which made Bra shy away.   
  
"Nani? What do you want?" Trunks said.   
  
"Well, I was wondering if you could teach me to learn to fly." Bra said, grammatically butchering her sentence. Trunks did a double take.   
  
"F-fly? But why do you want to do that?" he asked.   
  
"Cus I want to!" Bra whined. "Please?" Trunks sighed. Well, at least she would learn quickly since she was half Saiya-jin and she already had the ability hidden within her. Hopefully, anyway.  
  
"Alright, but you owe me." Trunks said, dragging his body off of the bed and stretching. Bra clapped her hands excitedly and jumped up and down.   
  
"Didja hear that Pan?" Bra said, slurring her words together. "I'm gonna fly!" Pan just stared at her friend with a grinning expression and nodded. Trunks grabbed Bra and held her up to eye level while she giggled with delight.  
  
"First, you have to raise your power level to a significant amount." Trunks explained. "Apparently, you were born with it." He examined his little sister for a few seconds. He was amazed at how light she was in his arms. "I think we'll need to go outside. Come on." Trunks said, tucking the girl under his arm and flying out the window at a super sonic speed. In less than five seconds, they were at the beach. Trunks scanned the shore. Trunks thought to himself.   
  
"Are we there yet?" Bra shouted over the rushing wind. Trunks shook his head.  
  
"Iie...we have to find a secluded spot." He explained.  
  
"What's secluded?" Bra inquired. Trunks scowled.  
  
"I brought you here to teach you to fly, not to be your personal dictionary." He said. He finally located an empty section of the beach and he lowered his altitude as he drew close to it. The finally landed and Trunks set his sister down on the sand. "Now...first you have to imagine yourself flying through the sky. It all starts out as mental manifestation." Bra shut her little blue eyes and imagined herself as a bird. "Imagine your ki surrounding you as you propel yourself through the air." Bra's power level started to increase slightly and her aura expanded just enough to be noticeable by Trunks.   
  
"Am I doing it?" she said, continuing to clench her fists and stare intently into nothingness.  
  
"Keep on." Trunks said. "Focus on directing your ki to flow through you and lift you off the ground." Bra started to rise above the sand a couple of inches, but she became so excited that she lost her train of thought and fell back to the sand. Her eyes welled up with tears and she began to cry.  
  
"I-I can't g-get it." She said in between wails. Trunks robbed his forehead.   
  
"Bra-chan it takes practice." He explained. "But, you've basically learned to hover. Now you just need to put more effort into it." Bra folded her arms and looked out towards the ocean.   
  
"I wish it just came naturally to me. Just like it did for Kira." She said bitterly. Trunks stumbled back a few steps at the mention of her name.  
  
"B-bra, Kira...she..." he trailed off, forcing back tears. "Kira had been training since she was three. She has a couple of years advantage."  
  
"Niichan are you crying?" Bra asked, looking up at her brother. Trunks immediately turned away.  
  
"Of course not." He said. "I'm just fine."  
  
"Niichan what happened to Natalie?" Bra questioned. "Is she gone?" Trunks clenched his fists impulsively.   
  
"Come on, we're going back." He said, and started to grab Bra, but she jumped away.  
  
"No! Tell me the truth!" Bra demanded. Trunks glared at her.  
  
"You brat! We're going back now!" he said, and grabbed her by the arm. She cried and propelled herself away from him in fear. She then realized that she was hanging three feet in the air and fell down again, and became vulnerable to Trunks. He seized the opportunity and grabbed his sister again, and flew back to the hotel at top speed.   
  
They arrived soon after, and Trunks forced himself through the partially open window, sister in tow. She was crying and whining to get free, so Trunks released her and she fell to the ground with a thud. He then shut the window behind him and allowed himself to fall onto the bed. Goten, who had just finished his shower, emerged from the foggy, steam-filled bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. His wet hair clung to his neck and beads of water ran down his chin.  
  
"Trunks is something the matter?" Goten said timidly. Trunks, who was resting his elbows in his knees and grasping chunks of his purple hair in frustration, shook his head. Goten looked at him skeptically. "Come on, when I left to shower you were doing better. What happened?" Trunks raised his head and made eye contact with Goten, but refused to speak. Goten grew exasperated very quickly and unloaded. "You know something Trunks? You are being such a child about this. Instead of trying to figure out how to save Nat, all you can do is feel sorry for yourself and lay around, while everybody else works. And if it's not good enough, you feel obligated to let loose on them!" Goten shouted. "Maybe if you would get off your ass and try a little, we could get closer to bringing her back!" Trunks dropped his jaw but quickly put it back into place.  
  
"Come off it Goten!" he retaliated. "I can't explain the feeling!"  
  
"Trunks, what are we going to do with you? You become so attached to someone and it blinds you...you aren't rational." Goten said, lowering the tone of his voice.  
  
"Love isn't rational Goten. You'll find out one of these days." Trunks said, quieting down as well. "You feel like you just can't breathe knowing that the one you love is in pain."  
  
"Trunks you sound like a romance novel." Goten interjected.  
  
"Goten!" Trunks cried. "You are so insensitive! Can't you open your mind for a moment and try to understand?"  
  
"According to you, I can't understand the concept of love until I've experienced it." Goten replied dryly. Trunks folded his arms and turned away angrily, but his senses picked up on something and his head snapped up. "What is it?" Goten asked. He then felt the power as well.  
  
"Goten...do you think it could be..." Trunks started.  
  
"It's not Natalie." Goten replied. "It's very similar to hers, which is strange since her ki is so much different than ours."  
  
"There's three." Trunks said. They looked at each other and nodded. The two Saiya-jins flew out the window and raced across the sky. "They're heading straight for us!" Trunks said. "How could they possible find us out here?"  
  
"They must be locked on to our ki." Goten said. "I can't tell whether it's evil or not. But we have to be on guard." Suddenly, three dim balls of light appeared low in the sky. They weren't in any formation, but it was apparent that they were all together. The balls grew brighter and slightly larger as they came closer.   
  
"They're going to wreck this island when they land!" Trunks exclaimed. "There are too many people!" Finally, the balls grew to the size of baseballs from Trunks and Goten's perspective. No more than thirty seconds later, the balls, which were now recognizable as space travel pods, zoomed just feet over the heads of the teenage boys, causing wind to rip through the area, almost knocking them over. Trunks and Goten prepared for the Earth-shattering impact of the pods as they continued on, but, to their amazement, just as the ships were about to hit the ground head on, they slowed to a halt, hanging in the air for a few seconds before falling on the ground with a consecutive thud noise. As the dust settled and the wind died down, Trunks and Goten stood in place, sweat dripping down their foreheads. Trunks gulped, and Goten dared to take a step forward.   
  
"I don't like the looks of this." Goten said. "We should get the others."  
  
"Iie." Trunks said, outstretching his arm to block Goten. "We don't want to make a scene. Besides, we don't have enough time." Goten stood in place and they waited. There was a painful period of silence before the sound of the airlock hissed and broke the ice.   
  
"Trunks...those look just like Orion's pod." Goten said, growing fearful. Trunks cursed under his breath as the doors slid open agonizingly slow. Before Trunks and Goten could react to their latest observation, three figures emerged from their respective ships. As they came out of the shadows, Trunks and Goten gasped and almost fell backward. The middle figure came forward and spoke in a commanding voice.  
  
"This must be Earth." 


	9. Chapter 9

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 9 - A New Ally...The Story of the Past is Revealed  
  
  
Trunks and Goten stared in incredulity at the three warriors who stood before them. The middle one, who had spoken, looked to be about their same age and build. He had short spiky black hair with a chunk falling in his face, and icy blue eyes. As they studied him, he spoke again.   
  
"You must be wondering what we're doing here." He said. Trunks and Goten, at a loss for words, nodded simultaneously. "We were sent here to help. It's about the princess, I assume you know who she is." Trunks' eyes widened.  
  
"What do you know about her!" he demanded, taking on a defensive position. The two remaining figures stepped up to his side, revealing themselves. They were both female, and they both wore the same armor. The one on the left had dark purple hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, with loose pieces resting on the sides of her face, and eyes the shade of blue. The one on the right had short blonde hair with eyes such a light shade of blue that they almost looked grey. Both girls looked to be quite young as well, and judging by their appearance, they couldn't be older than eighteen.   
  
"Don't worry, we aren't enemies. Like he said, we're here to help." The blue haired girl spoke. She eyed Goten and Trunks before looking back at the male in their group. "I don't sense her ki. She must have already disappeared from this time."  
  
"You did this, didn't you!" Trunks shouted angrily. Goten pulled him back to avoid a confrontation. The male spoke up.  
  
"What do you know about this?" He asked calmly. Trunks straightened himself up and regained his composure, but he still kept his eyes on the three of them very intently.   
  
"We know that something has caused a disturbance in time." Trunks replied. The two girls exchanged glances and nodded. The male then stepped forward.  
  
"My name is Sirius." He said. "This is Reena," he continued, pointing to the blue haired girl, "and this is Ceres." He said, and pointed to the blonde. "We come from the planet Vela."  
  
"That's Natalie's home!" Trunks said. Sirius looked at him with a confused expression.   
  
"We know nobody by that name." He said.   
  
"But you said you knew the princess." Trunks argued.  
  
"We do. But her name is not Natalie." Ceres interjected. Trunks looked perplexed, trying to figure out what they were talking about, when it hit him.  
  
"Of course." He said. "You're talking about Carina?" The three warriors tensed slightly.  
  
"You know her?" Sirius inquired. Trunks nodded.   
  
"But here she goes by Natalie." He explained. "Nobody ever called her that...besides Orion." Sirius grey wide eyed.  
  
"Orion!?" he said. "How do you know him!"  
  
"He came here!" Trunks said, challenging Sirius. "Don't you know him?"  
  
"We do." Sirius replied. "What did he want?"  
  
"He came for Natalie...er...Carina. He said that it was her destiny to be with him or some bullshit like that." Trunks said. "We...well, Natalie killed him." Sirius had an intrigued look on his face.  
  
"That's strange." He said. "But that's beside the point. We came here to tell you about the disappearance of the princess and what you can do to help."  
  
"Why do you care so much?" Goten asked suspiciously. Reena looked over at him.  
  
"We're her guardians." she answered. "Our parents were the guards of the royal family, and naturally, we took on the job of protecting princess Carina. We were raised together." She explained.   
  
"What about Orion?" Trunks asked. "Was he from planet Vela too?" Sirius nodded.  
  
"Yes. He was...his father was a supposed ally of the monarchy." He said. "But he was a traitor in the end."  
  
"We've heard all that before. Nat said she had a dream and someone told her." Goten said. Reena continued to study him curiously, much to his embarrassment.   
  
"Anyway, her mother sent us here. She wanted us to find the Saiya-jins that had resided here and ask for their assistance." Sirius continued. Suddenly, Trunks could feel two power levels headed their way.   
  
"Tousan..." he muttered under his breath. A few seconds later, Vegeta and Goku appeared on the scene.  
  
"What's going on here?" Vegeta demanded. "I felt three strange power levels over here," he said, and looked at the tree warriors, "do they belong to you?"  
  
"P-prince Vegeta?" Ceres said, staring at Vegeta. Sirius and Reena had also become transfixed on him. Vegeta just eyed them.  
  
"How do you know of me?" he asked. Sirius spoke up.  
  
"You must not remember us. I'm not surprised; we weren't around then, but we know who you are. Planet Vela had an alliance with planet Vegeta before it was destroyed." He explained. Vegeta's eye twitched.   
  
"Planet Vela? Are you talking about that girl's planet?" he asked.   
  
"Her name is Carina." Sirius corrected. "And yes, that is the planet we speak of. The king of Vela was a Saiya-jin."  
  
"Aries!" Vegeta said. "He was one of the elite class. He was sent to that planet as a representative." He continued, recalling his memories. "I remember...he was only a few years older than me."  
  
"You remember the king?" Reena asked. Vegeta nodded, still deep in thought.  
  
"If he was the king...than that means..." he started. "That girl is his daughter!" The three warriors eyed him strangely.  
  
"She is. She is the daughter of King Aries and Queen Melina." Sirius said. "She was of great importance."  
  
"She's just a little brat." Vegeta commented. "Why was she so important." Sirius scowled.  
  
"The princess is not an insignificant brat, Prince Vegeta." He said. "This is why we have come here. Vela was a planet of impending scientific utopia. Our race was one of intelligence more than strength, which was the Saiya-jin race's predominant attribute. However, the royal family possessed the strength that kept the Sidra-jins together and invincible. When Melina married Aries and they assumed the throne, they bore one child. Carina."  
  
"What does this have to do with why you came?" Vegeta asked impatiently.  
  
"I'm going to explain that if you'll be patient and listen." Sirius said. "Carina, though she did not, and still doesn't know it, has a great underlying strength in her. On planet Vela she was too young to utilize it. Here, she is limited. The queen made it so, because she knew that if Carina could in fact use her power, she would either break apart this world, or she would be taken advantage of by power hungry enemies."  
  
"Like Orion." Trunks said.   
  
"Right." Sirius said, nodding. "Hesperos knew of her power, which is why he sent Orion after her when he died. Though Orion and Carina grew up together as well, Hesperos corrupted his son into believing that the monarchy was evil and that his mission was to rid the universe of the king and queen so that he could ascend the throne with Carina by his side."  
  
"And so what's your point?" Goku asked, finally speaking up.  
  
"My point is, that someone else knows of her strength. His name is Hermes. He was one of Vela's most brilliant scientists, but he was also corrupted. He was a genius on the borderline of insanity, which often caused him to question the meaning of life." Sirius went on. "When planet Vela was destroyed, it was thought that he had been killed along with it, but, like Orion, he had escaped. However, he was beginning to age, and he knew that he could not continue on much longer. So, he cloned himself using his very own DNA, and he incubated the clone, which grew at a fast rate, until it was the equivalent of 20 Earth years old. Hermes went on to die, but before he did, he loaded all of his knowledge and memory into his clone. It was like he was being reborn. Hermes went on to create a time travel device, which he used to go back in time and destroy the princess Carina when she was vulnerable."  
  
"Why would he want to do that?" Goten said. Trunks was now becoming greatly upset at hearing this.  
  
"He rendered her defenseless. But, as Carina disappeared from this world, he preserved her energy, life, and body." Reena added in. Trunks narrowed his eyes.  
  
"He what? You mean that he has Natalie, Carina, in his possession as we speak?" he said, outraged. The three warriors just gave him a look of affirmation. "What is he planning on doing with her!"  
  
"Our guess is that he will allow her to access her full power, and brainwash her so that it will be his for the taking." Ceres spoke. Trunks slammed his foot into the ground, creating a miniature crater.   
  
"Why didn't you stop him!? Why did you come here?" Trunks cried. Goten stepped up to Trunks.  
  
"Stop it." He said. "They're trying to help." Sirius focused on Trunks.  
  
"You're attached to the princess, are you not?" he asked. Reena and Ceres looked at Sirius, and then at Trunks with looks of shock. Trunks didn't answer, confirming his question.  
  
"I see." He said. "Then you will want to help us as well, right?" Trunks nodded.   
  
"How are we going to do that?" he asked, trying to keep his ki level down.   
  
"We have to go back in time, to the day that Hermes killed Carina. Then we can map his energy output and track it." Ceres explained.   
  
"Can't we just stop him?" Trunks cried. Ceres shook her head.  
  
"No. We can't interfere with these events or it could cause a time confliction catastrophe." She said.  
  
"Wow, she sounds just like Bulma." Goku commented. Vegeta slapped himself while Ceres just looked at him with a puzzled look on her face.  
  
"Who is Bul-" she broke off as Goku interrupted her.  
  
"Bulma is a genius." He said. "And Vegeta and she are married." Goku added, grinning, and causing everyone to face fault.   
  
"And when we find this Hermes ass hole, what do we do then?" Trunks said, trying to get back on the subject.   
  
"Then we will have to return to the future, calculate his whereabouts, and find the princess." Sirius said. "There is a good side to this, though." He continued.   
  
"What?" Trunks demanded.  
  
"Hermes cannot brainwash her unless she is willing. Otherwise it won't work." He answered.   
  
"Well then we don't have to worry about that." Goten said. "Wall we have to do is find her and get her back, and kill that Hermes guy."  
  
"It's not that simple. He could use the concept of manipulation to trick her into it. We cannot be sure." Sirius said.  
  
"But, in short, we came here for help, since we aren't able to carry out his mission alone." Reena said. "So we're asking you to do this for us, and for the princess."  
  
"Of course we'll do it." Goten said. Trunks nodded in agreement.  
  
"I don't believe we know your names yet." Reena said. Goten introduced the group.  
  
"This is Trunks, Vegeta's son." He said, pointing to his friend. "And I'm Goten. This is Goku, my father, but he also goes by Kakarotto to the remaining Saiya-jins, including Natalie and Vegeta."  
  
"How did you know that the princess was a Saiya-jin?" Ceres inquired. "Her tail was removed at birth to prevent controversy."  
  
"It grew back in the rejuvenation tank as part of the healing process." Trunks said.   
  
"So tell me more about your plans." Vegeta started, talking to Sirius. "You plan to go back in time, am I right?" The three nodded. "Do you know the exact time when the girl was killed?"  
  
"Actually, we were hoping you could help us with that one. We were sent away with no equipment, so we were hoping that your planet would yield the necessary tools." Ceres said.  
  
"Wait just a minute." Goten started. "If Natalie's disappearance affected the planet, then why are you two here?" The trio exchanged glances and smirked.   
  
"We were known for our technology, young Saiya-jin." Sirius said, and placed his hand over his temple, pulling off a concealed device that was no bigger than a thumbnail. "Just like Hermes did with Carina, these kept us alive and free from time's wrath."  
  
"How do you know that we're Saiya-jins?" Vegeta demanded.   
  
"We can tell by your ki." Sirius replied. "There is a certain signature that all Saiya-jins possess. Only those sensitive to it can detect it. The Sidra-jins also have this trait."  
  
"I knew there was something different about that girl." Vegeta continued.   
  
"There is indeed." Sirius said. Trunks stole a glance at Sirius and almost detected a slight affection for Natalie in his emotions. He didn't like the sound of it either.   
  
"Well what are we just standing her for?" Trunks said. Vegeta was having a hard time accepting the fact that Natalie, that brat who lived with him, was the daughter of a Saiya-jin of significance. He also didn't understand why the three warriors had come all the way from another galaxy just to save her. After all, she was just a little brat. Suddenly, Goten began to fade in and out, and he fell to his knees.   
  
"Nani!?" Goku cried. Reena looked at Goten, pulled off her sustaining device, and placed it on his temple. He started to stabilize and his body calmed down.  
  
"Reena what are you doing?" Sirius cried. "If you don't keep it on, you'll start to fade!"  
  
"No, I'll be fine for a few minutes." She said. "We need to start working on our mission right away, or we won't have any help left in this timeline." Sirius nodded reluctantly and turned to Vegeta.  
  
"Vegeta-sama, we need your help." He said. "If you do not wish to be of assistance, then so be it. But we need to act quickly, not just for Carina, but for the fate of this world." Vegeta looked intently into Sirius' eyes.   
  
"I don't know why I'm trusting you." He said. "And I don't know why everyone cares about this girl, but if it affects our world I have no choice."  
  
"Arigatou." Reena answered. "I know that you're a bit skeptical about it, but we're only here to help."  
  
"We need to get back and tell the others." Goku piped in. Everyone turned to him.   
  
"Right." Goten said, who had now stabilized. He then turned to Sirius. "You can come with us to figure out a plan." He then turned and looked out toward the shore. Judging by the sun's position, it was probably around 6:00 or so. "We probably won't be finished before sundown."  
  
"You can stay at Capsule Corp. if you want." Trunks said. Vegeta twitched but did so very subtly. Sirius, Reena, and Ceres all looked at each other and seemed to communicate with their eyes. Sirius then turned to the group again.   
  
"Fine." He said. "But we don't want to get in the way so we'll keep to ourselves." Trunks eyed them for a minute. It seemed like they were hiding something, or that they were just being impersonal.  
  
"No, it's no inconvenience to us, really." He insisted. "If you want, you could even take Nat's room." They all looked at him strangely.  
  
"She lives with you?" Reena inquired. Trunks nodded apprehensively. "Are you two...?" she trailed off suggestively. Trunks stepped back and blushed.  
  
"No..." he said.   
  
"Not yet anyway." Goten added, snickering. Trunks turned to him and shot his friend a glare. The three just stood, looking at Trunks strangely. Sirius just cleared his throat and continued on.  
  
"Let's get to work." He said as he looked at Trunks. "You can lead the way." Trunks looked at Vegeta and Goku for backup.  
  
"Well, we aren't exactly in a position to go now. We have to get back to Japan." He explained.   
  
"Where are we?" Ceres asked. "We set our pods to lock on to the high ki's here."  
  
"We're on vacation." Vegeta cut in. "Kakarotto can teleport us." He said, and looked at Goku, who facefaulted.   
  
"Vegeta I don't know...there are an awful lot of people here." He said.   
  
"Kakarotto you're supposed to be the strongest in the universe! Can't you deal with a handful of people?" he shouted. Everyone was beginning to grow impatient.   
  
"Alright, but let me just go back to the hotel and tell Chi-Chi." He said, and started to fly away, but Vegeta grabbed him by the foot.  
  
"No, you're going to teleport us to Capsule Corp. You can come back for your mate." He said. Goku was about to disagree but caught the looks on the faces of everyone around him and decided otherwise. With a sigh, he motioned for everyone to plane his or her respective hands on his shoulders as he began the process.   
  
"You owe me one, Vegeta." He said.   
  
"I don't owe you shit, Kakarotto..." Vegeta's voice faded out as they disappeared in a flash of light. 


	10. Chapter 10

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 10 - Slow Progress and Impatience Don't Mix  
  
  
Bulma, who had grown tired of sitting in her hotel room, walked towards the door.  
  
"Well I'm not waiting around for him." She said angrily, shaking her fist at the air. She swung open the door and marched into the hall, and just as she began to make a 90-degree turn, she smacked straight into Chi-Chi, who had been heading her way too. As soon as Bulma steadied herself, she looked up at Chi-Chi, who also had a rather antagonistic look on her face.  
  
"Goku, that moron!" she said, getting up off of the floor. "Who does he think he is? For Dende's sake we can't even go on vacation without him flying off somewhere!" Bulma looked at Chi-Chi with an alarmed expression on her face, and then spoke up.  
  
"You mean, Goku has run off too?" she cried.   
  
"What do you mean, too?" Chi-Chi said suspiciously.   
  
"What else? Vegeta left as well! Who else is missing!?" Bulma cried, apparently quite distraught.   
  
"Let's check." Chi-Chi said, and headed down the hall towards Gohan's room. She opened the door swiftly, only to see Gohan and Videl sitting together on the cough reading. Videl was practically wrapped around Gohan, who seemed to be enjoying it the whole time. As Chi-Chi burst in, they jumped away from each other and sat up straight. Gohan cleared his throat nervously.  
  
"Is...there something you need, Kaasan?" he asked his very shocked mother. She just shook her head very slowly and exited the room. After an awkward silence, Gohan and Videl shrugged their shoulders and continued where they had left off.   
  
Chi-Chi walked down the hall, still fuming, and headed towards Trunks and Goten's room, where Bulma had apparently already beat her to. As she entered the sunlit room, she saw Bulma, who was red in the face, staring out the window while she yelled at Bra.   
  
"Buy Kaasan I swear! They said they felt a power level!" Bra whined. Bulma spun around.  
  
"Why didn't they bother to inform us!?" Bulma cried. Chi-Chi, who had just entered the room, looked rather confused and bewildered, but that expression on relative serenity changed to one of fury.  
  
"You mean our SONS have left as well?" she cried. Bulma folded her arms.  
  
"When those two get back, I'm going to make their lives hell." She declared. Chi-Chi nodded her head in agreement as Bra and Pan were huddling in the corner in fright.   
  
"B-but Kaasan they said they felt a power level!" Bra insisted. "They will come back!"  
  
"Come back!" Pan added in her little, high-pitched girl voice. Chi-Chi and Bulma looked at the girls.  
  
"I can feel them Kaasan!" Bra continued. Bulma knew that her little Saiya-jin senses were picking up on the power levels, but she knew that she wasn't developed well enough to tell exactly where their relative position was.   
  
"Well at least we know that they aren't in another time zone..." Bulma said, looking out the window.  
  
  
"Vegeta are you sure you know what you're doing?" Goku asked, rubbing the back of his head. Vegeta turned to him, surprisingly calm.   
  
"Of course I do. If you want, you can go back for your mate. It's up to you." He said. Sirius, Reena, and Ceres were looking around in wonder as Trunks and Goten silently conversed.   
  
"Alright, but I'll come back okay?" Goku said, turning.  
  
"Hai. And bring my mate with you too." He said. Goku nodded, placed his fingers to his forehead for about the 5th time that day, and teleported back to Hawaii. Vegeta turned back to the group.  
  
"We had no idea that the technology was this far advanced on Earth." Ceres said, picking up a scouter and studying it. Vegeta growled.  
  
"Are you sure you know what you are doing?" he said, irritated. "You don't have enough knowledge of our technology to be able to work with it." Ceres looked up at him with an eyebrow raised.  
  
"Vegeta-sama, don't become angry. I've always been good with these kinds of things, domestic and foreign. I guess you could call it a gift." She said, just as she clicked the scouter onto her face, as somewhat of a sign for him not to challenge her. Vegeta clenched his teeth but said nothing.  
  
"I assume these belong to your mate." Reena said, making sure to accentuate the last word. Vegeta flinched.   
  
"They do." He said, proceeding to lean against the wall and fold his arms. Trunks and Goten exchanged glances.  
  
Trunks thought to himself. He was beginning to have second thoughts about the whole thing. But he thought about Natalie, and realized that if there was any chance of bringing her back, he was going to take it. He knew that nobody could understand, but he surely couldn't live without her.   
  
"Trunks." Vegeta said, snapping his son out of his stupor. Trunks turned to face his father with a look of question in his eyes. "You know more about these things than I do. Show these people the Capsule Corp. lab and see if they can figure out a plan." Vegeta said. Trunks turned to the trio of warriors and Goten, and nodded his head in the direction of the science wing of Capsule Corp. As the five teenagers walked, Goten started a conversation to break the ice.   
  
"Hey, I have a question." He said. Reena turned to him and looked into his eyes, blushed, and turned away again. Sirius replied.  
  
"What is it." He asked, not turning to look at Goten, but kept his eyes focused in front of him as they traveled down the corridors.   
  
"If Natalie disappeared, and you three left the planet when she did, then how did you know that her mother sent her to Earth? How can you know about it if it indefinitely never happened?" Goten asked. Reena smiled slightly, but did not dare look at him. Sirius paused in the corridor and everyone else slowed to a halt about ten feet in front of him.   
  
"Listen." He said. "Hermes, he killed the princess when she was 14, days before her mother was going to send her to Earth. We already knew of the plans, but they had not been acted out yet."  
  
"You can just call her Natalie." Goten added.   
  
"We address the royal family members by their status or birth name, nothing else." Sirius replied. Goten shot Trunks a look of halfhearted amusement, to which Trunks answered with a smirk. They continued on until they reached the main equipment rooms. Trunks pushed open the swinging double doors and they entered.  
  
"Everything you'll need will probably be somewhere in here." He said, and directed his hand in the direction of the walls of technical apparatuses. The three warriors had looks of reservation on their faces. "Well...?" Trunks trailed off.  
  
"We don't need all of this. We only require a few pieces of machinery." Reena said, looking over all of the devices.  
  
"Well, you name it, he's got it." Goten joked. She blushed again and turned her head to avoid being noticed.   
  
"I assume this planet has discovered time travel. Do you have the necessary-" Sirius broke off as Trunks interrupted him.  
  
"Hope." Trunks interjected. Sirius looked at him questionable. "Hope, the time machine." He said. "We have it here."  
  
"We also need an energy mapping-"   
  
"We have that too." Trunks interrupted once again.   
  
"Does it have built in time and energy conversion capabilities?" he asked, relieved to finally have finished his sentence. Trunks nodded. Sirius, Reena, and Ceres all exchanged glances and nodded.  
  
"It looks as though we might be able to pull this off."  
  
  
Goku appeared outside the hotel back in Hawaii. He approached with caution, for he feared Chi-Chi's reaction. She probably had already discovered his absence, and delivering the news to her would probably get him deeper into things.   
  
he thought to himself as he entered the lobby. Goku entered the elevator along with a group of young teenage girls. As he pressed the button to his floor, he was pierced with the stares of about five or six girls. They watched him timidly stand back and lean against the wall of the elevator. They all moved towards him and began to flirt with him as he desperately tried to pry them off of his body without flirting with him.  
  
"Wow, like you're totally hot." One said. She had a dark tan and bleach blonde hair, and she was smacking a large wad of gum. Goku laughed nervously.  
  
"G-girls I think this is my floor." Goku lied, trying to get out of the deadly grip of the females.   
  
"Oh, you can wait a little while." Another girl said. Goku soon had female bodies piled on top of him.   
  
"Girls, p-please..." he begged, but they didn't listen and continued to squeal in delight. Finally, Goku decided to use desperate measures. He expanded his aura sharply, knocking all of the girls senseless. He regained his composure and exited the elevator quickly before anyone saw him in an elevator full of knocked out teenage girls. Just as he began to sigh in relied, he came face-to-face with a very angry Chi-Chi. Before he could say anything, she grabbed him by the shirt.  
  
"Goku you baka!" she literally screamed. "Where in Dende's name have you been!?"  
  
"Chi-Chi honey, I can explain..." Goku began.   
  
"You'd better explain mister, or you're in for it!" she shouted. Goku freed himself from his wife's grip and stood in front of her. He also noticed Bulma standing down the hall with a livid look on her face.  
  
"Well, Vegeta and I were trying to find some food down in the lobby, and we felt three ki's approaching from the west, so we flew over to check them out." He began. "Well they ended up being some weird warriors from Natalie's planet, who came to help us find her." Chi-Chi looked at him with an eyebrow cocked.  
  
"Is that the best story you could think of?" she bellowed, placing her hands on her hips.   
  
"But Chi-Chi it's true, I swear! I had to teleport them to Capsule Corp. so they could work out a plan! I'll take you there if you don't believe me!" Goku protested.   
  
"No way, Goku. I am finally on a well-deserved vacation, and nothing, not even aliens from outer space, is going to stand in my way!" Chi-Chi declared. Bulma had now stepped out to the group, and had been listening to Goku's arguments.   
  
"Goku, did you say they came from Natalie's planet?" she inquired. Chi-Chi's jaw dropped and she turned to Bulma.  
  
"Don't tell me you actually believe him!" she cried.   
  
"Well I don't think Goku has the intelligence to make something like that up-I mean..." Bulma trailed off, as Goku looked as he had been stabbed. "Goku-san, if you're telling the truth, you have to take me back. You, Chi-Chi, Gohan, Videl, and the kids can stay here, but I need to go." Goku looked at Chi-Chi for permission.  
  
"Do what you want, Goku. I guess there's no stopping you. But you had better come back, because we are going to enjoy this vacation!" she said sternly. Goku gulped and nodded is head swiftly as Bulma placed her hand on his shoulder. Before Chi-Chi could change her mind, he had disappeared.  
  
  
"Actually, I think that goes with the older model." Trunks said as Ceres picked up a piece of machinery. "But I could be wrong. I would have to ask Kaasan." Just then, as if on cue, Goku and Bulma appeared in the middle of the room, startling the five teenagers, as well as Vegeta, who had joined them as well. Bulma looked over at the new warriors and studied them curiously. Reena turned to Sirius for affirmation, but he didn't turn to face her.   
  
"Honey, who are these people?" Bulma asked nervously.   
  
"They claim to be some guardians from the girl's planet." Vegeta answered.  
  
"Of course. Goku are these the three people you were talking about?" she said, turning around to face him, but he had gone. Vegeta smirked.  
  
"Kakarotto is in trouble this time." He muttered under his breath. Bulma took a few steps toward the group.  
  
"Hi, I'm Bulma." She said. "Vegeta is my husband, I assume you have already met." Sirius went wide-eyed.  
  
"You're the wife of the great prince Vegeta?" he inquired. Bulma looked at Vegeta and rolled her eyes at him.  
  
"You mean to tell me that you've just met these people and you're already bragging about your former status?" she cried.   
  
"No, woman, they already knew who I was before I told them." He answered. Sirius nodded his head in affirmation.  
  
"Vegeta was a legend on his planet and ours." Sirius explained.   
  
"Stop, you're only inflating his ego!" Bulma cried. Sirius backed away slowly in perplexity.   
  
"I can see that you are a good match for Vegeta-sama." He said. "But we need to get to work."  
  
"Hey, hey. You don't have to be serious all the time." She commented. Sirius just looked at her strangely, and Bulma realized what she had done. "I meant, SERIOUS, not Sirius." She said, hoping to clear up the confusion. Obviously, it didn't work, and Bulma shrugged her shoulders in surrender.  
  
"Come on, woman." Vegeta said, literally dragging his mate towards the equipment, where Ceres was sitting. "They need your help."  
  
"Vegeta, I hate to complain, but all I wanted to do was spend a nice, relaxing vacation in a far away tropical island. I can't even find peace there!" Bulma protested.   
  
"Well perhaps one of these days we'll find time to do that." Vegeta said.   
  
"For now, we don't have any other choice, unless you suggest sitting back and watching the universe crumble." Sirius interpolated.   
  
"You mean to tell me that the fate of the universe depends on that...that girl?" Vegeta said. "I think you're a little too proud of your princess." Sirius snarled.  
  
"Vegeta-sama, we can understand your lack of knowledge, but we aren't making this up just because she is one of our own." He said sternly. "What you fail to do is look at the chain of events that will take place if this 'girl' ceases to exist."  
  
"Alright already!" Vegeta said. "I'm sick of hearing this."  
  
"Tousan stop worrying about it and try to relax!" Trunks shouted. Everyone turned to look at him, and he quickly shied away.  
  
"Can everyone just stop arguing and try to put their differences aside!" Goten said, angered. Now the focus was on him, but didn't flinch. "Every time we try to do something, there's always someone that's not happy, or something that gets in the way!" Bulma nodded her head.  
  
"Amen, Goten." She said. "I think that we should all just follow his example. If we want to solve this problem, we have to work together and forget about our discrepancies.   
  
After everyone had calmed down, they went to work. Bulma and Ceres immediately devised a seemingly foolproof plan of action, and were working on selecting the right components.   
  
"Well, I think that the time machine would be a better idea, because it's faster, but, it doesn't hold many people." Bulma explained. "Even my advanced model only holds three, and there are five of you." Ceres just sat, without comment. "How did you get here anyway, if you're from the past?"   
  
"Ever heard of artificial aging?" Sirius asked. Bulma looked up at him, from where she was sitting.   
  
"You mean...?" she broke off. The three all nodded their heads.   
  
"We were aged a couple of years ahead of our time, cryogenically frozen, and then awoken 2 years later." Reena said.   
  
"Just like Orion." Vegeta said. "That bastard."   
  
"Orion wasn't aged." Sirius added. "He was just frozen for a year. So, actually, he is supposed to be three years older than the princess, but he is really four."  
  
"Yeah, whatever." Trunks said, becoming irritated at the constant mention of Natalie and that ass hole Orion.   
  
"May I ask, how did you kill him?" Sirius asked, directing his question mainly at Trunks.   
  
"Why, you don't think we look capable of pulling it off?" Vegeta snapped.   
  
"Well, I didn't say those exact words, but-"   
  
"Yeah, we know what you meant by it nonetheless. Besides, we didn't do it. It was the girl, and her brat from the future." Vegeta answered. Sirius tilted his head.  
  
"Nani? Who came form the future?" he asked.   
  
"It was the girl's brat..." Vegeta said. "Hers, and his." He continued, and pointed in Trunks' direction. Trunks, at the mention of both of their names, turned his head away bitterly.  
  
"Their child?" Ceres asked.   
  
"Child, brat, whatever. Yeah, that was her." Vegeta replied. "Why do you want to know?"  
  
"Just curious. Did you all know of her heritage or not?" Sirius asked.   
  
"Of course we knew. Hell that Orion guy came back and explained the whole damn story to us, going on and on about her destiny." Vegeta said. It was obvious that he was growing annoyed as well.   
  
"I'll stop asking questions if it's a bother." Sirius said, and turned away. "It just interests me to see how the princess has adjusted to this new world."  
  
"Do you think she would remember you?" Goten asked out of the blue.   
  
"I'm not sure." Sirius replied. "There's only one way to find that out. And we should get a move on."  
  
"We're working on it!" Bulma whined, working on a piece of equipment with microscopic tools. "Dende knows how long this will take. If we're lucky, only a few days." Bulma continued.  
  
"A few days!" Vegeta said, exasperated. "Hell woman we could disappear before that time! Isn't there any way to make the process less...time consuming?" Bulma looked up from her work with an aggravated look on her face.  
  
"Listen here, prince. Time travel is NOT an easy task, especially when you have to worry about transporting five people to a planet in another galaxy in the process." She belted out. Vegeta quickly shut his mouth and turned the other way.   
  
"Well why don't you just use their methods?" Trunks said icily, gesturing towards Sirius and Reena.   
  
"They did not time travel!" Bulma shot back. "They were frozen and waited for 2 years. If you feel like doing that, be my guest. But, considering you probably don't, just can it!" Goten and Reena struggled to keep their laughter in, but quickly composed themselves when they saw the look on his face. Trunks, fighting to control his anger, stormed out of the room, leaving behind a very confused Goten.   
  
Trunks angrily walked down the halls, heading towards the main living quarters. If there were one thing to calm him down, it would be training, especially in the gravity room where he would have physical targets. He was still in his clothes from Hawaii, but he didn't care. He tore off his shirt and set the control panel for 400 times gravity. He knew that he should warm up first, but he was so beyond comprehension that he didn't know what he was doing. As the gravity generator powered up and emitted a low, steady hum, Trunks opened the door and thrust himself into the room to prevent destabilization from being exposed to two different G-Forces at once. Just as he did a few quick stretches, several fighting droids emerged from the inner walls, just as Trunks expected. Immediately he charged one and thrusted his hand through it's protective metal shell, tangling his hand in the vast away of wires. He pulled his hand back out, causing jagged pieces of metal to scrape him down his fingers and cut his skin. He cursed loudly and kicked the malfunctioning droid across the room in fury. As he fought, he was deep in thought. How could everyone be so insensitive to his feelings? The acted like the loss of Natalie was to be taken lightly, and there was nothing to worry about. But, surely, if it had been his kaasan, his tousan would have blown up the planet in anger and fear.   
  
"Damnit!" Trunks cursed aloud. He was so angry with everyone, and everything. He was still trying to grasp the concept that the last thing Natalie saw were his cold, evil eyes staring into hers as the life was being forced out of her. Before he knew it, tears were falling down his face. Angrily, Trunks literally slapped himself, trying to remove them from his face. How could he cry at a time like this! He was being a fool, worrying about his own emotions when he was supposed to be focusing on the task at hand. His rage grew significantly, and he transformed into Super Saiya-jin subconsciously. Since he had done so for many, many years, it was almost like second nature to him now. It required little to no effort. He just continued to fight, his rage acting as his fuel, as he gritted his teeth in determination, as if that simple act would make up for his mistakes. 


	11. Chapter 11

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 11 - Preparing for Departure  
  
  
After training until his muscles could no longer function properly, Trunks finally took a break. He shut off the gravity generator and just sad, alone, in the cold, sterile dome of the gravity room. He still had his shirt on, and beads of cold sweat covered his back, chest, and forehead. He sat back and took in a deep breath. Yes, training definitely relaxed him. Suddenly, there was a loud knocking on the door, shattering the peace. Trunks growled and forced himself onto his feet, his muscles burning in protestation. Trunks swung open the airlock door to see Goten and Reena standing in front of him.  
  
"Nani?" Trunks said with a sigh. Goten stepped into the room, joining his friend, and Reena followed.  
  
"Trunks you looked pretty angry back there. You okay now?" Goten asked.   
  
"I am now." Trunks answered, flexing his arms to let the blood continue flowing. "I don't know Goten. Something just came over me and I knew that if I didn't get away, I would explode right then and there."   
  
"Hey that's understandable. It happens to the best of us." Goten said, trying to lighten the mood.  
  
"Where are the others?" Trunks inquired.   
  
"Sirius and Ceres are with your Kaasan and Tousan in the lab." Reena answered. "Before we left, Ceres said something about being close to a conclusion."  
  
"Good. We need to leave as soon as possible." Trunks said. Reena chuckled at Trunks. He looked at her in question. "Nani?" he said.   
  
"Oh, gomen. I just think it's cute the way you care for princess Carina." She said. Trunks just turned his head away again, which made Reena frown. "Gomen, gomen nasai." She said, apologizing profusely. "I didn't know..." Trunks turned back to her with a slight smile in his face.  
  
"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you guys came here to help." He said, and then straightened out his lips again as he looked towards the door. "I'm starved. Let's get something to eat." He said, and headed outside. Goten snickered as Trunks left.  
  
"What's so funny?" Reena asked, smiling.  
  
"Nothing." Goten said. "But, one thing's for sure. He's definitely feeling better." Reena, still confused, continued to smile anyway and followed Goten out of the gravity room and towards the kitchen.   
  
  
Back in Hawaii, Goku and Chi-Chi were enjoying a moment of solitude for once in their lives. They were both sitting on the beach, sunbathing.   
  
"Chi-Chi, honey, I really need to get back to the others..." Goku started, sitting up.   
  
"Nonsense Goku!" Chi-Chi cried, pushing him back onto the towel. "We are GOING to enjoy this vacation, even if the Earth crumbles beneath us in the process."  
  
"But chi-"   
  
"Don't 'but' me Goku!" she cried, and placed her hand over his mouth as she rolled onto her stomach and let out a sigh. Goku rolled his eyes.  
  
he thought to himself.  
  
  
"Goten! Did you eat the last package of rice cakes!?" Trunks cried, digging through the pantry. Goten immediately shied away, leaving a distressed Trunks in the kitchen. Reena instinctively followed him.   
  
"You know, you can always go back with your...friends if you want. Don't feel obligated to tag along." Goten said. Reena just shook her head.  
  
"I'm fine here. I really don't want to hang around with them anyway, right now at least." She replied. 'I really don't understand much of what they're saying." She admitted, appearing to be a little embarrassed. Goten then laughed and placed his hand on the back of his head.  
  
"I'm the same way! Whenever I hear Bulma talking about her 'latest' invention, I can't help but become confused." He said.   
  
"Back on Vela, when I was in school," Reena began, "I used to be the last one in the class to know what was going on. I felt really terrible about it, but Carina thought it was funny and she immediately befriended me."  
  
"You used to go to school together?" Goten asked.   
  
"Oh, yes. We all, me, Ceres, Sirius, Carina, and even Orion...we were all schooled by the king's apprentices. Ceres and Orion were always the smartest." Reena answered. "Sirius was more of the quiet type; he mainly kept to himself. And then there was me and Carina."   
  
"Wow." Goten said. "That's hard to imagine, seeing as Orion was such a jackass when he came here, and now Sirius is the most outspoken one of the group. He's intimidating."  
  
"No, he's really a softie. I think he just doesn't allow himself to get close to people. Ceres and I have been his only friends, next to Carina. It was hard being children of the empire, because we were always under watch." Reena explained. "Especially Carina. I remember that she used to tell me how she would watch the other kids play outside the castle walls and wish to be like them. She couldn't even go outside of the castle alone if her parents could help it. Though, sometimes she snuck out." Goten laughed, but he straightened his face.  
  
"It's just strange...nowadays Natalie is one of the most laid back, fun loving people I know. It's hard to imagine her as a proper, regal princess." Goten explained.   
  
"Well, she wasn't proper or regal back then. In fact, I'll bet she hasn't changed much." Reena said.   
  
"Well, one thing's for sure." Goten started. "And that is if we don't find her soon, Trunks is going to have a breakdown. Believe me, I know."  
  
"Is he really attached to her?" Reena said, almost in a dreamy tone. Goten just nodded.  
  
"More than I can comprehend, apparently." Goten said.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, this whole disappearance of Nat has gotten Trunks really upset, and sometimes he gets irrational and he takes out his anger on me." Goten explained, becoming rather upset. "He says that I don't understand love and that I can't imagine being without that one special person." Reena looked at Goten with sympathetic eyes as he continued. "And it just makes me wonder...is he right? Am I destined to never know what that emotion of love feels like?" When he finally ended, Reena's eyes were teary as she looked at him. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she brought her lips to his. And, for a split second, Goten felt like he would explode with emotion. A few seconds passed, and she finally drew away from him, completely red in the cheeks. Trunks, having finally found his meal, started to walk out of the kitchen and towards the pair, but he saw the positions that they were in and the looks on their faces, and without further delay, he turned right back around and went back to where he came from.   
  
"I...g-gomen." Reena said, turning away from Goten in discomfiture. Goten stood in place, still shocked, and finally, he blinked a few times. He licked his lips, and he could still feel the sensation of hers on his. Finally, Trunks came out with three cans of soda.   
  
"Hey Goten." He said, slapping his friend on the back. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."  
  
"N-no, Trunks, we were just...uh, talking." Goten said.  
  
"Right. We were talking about...school!" Reena added, trying to free herself from the situation. Trunks cocked his eyebrow and smirked at Goten, and handed them both a drink. Finally, the three of them headed back to the lab where Bulma and Ceres were still working on whatever invention they were trying to put together, while Sirius experimented with one of the scouters. Vegeta just sat in the corner and watched everyone suspiciously, like he was an animal protecting his territory. As soon as Trunks walked in, still without the presence of a shirt, Ceres turned around and gaped. She couldn't believe how totally built this guy was.  
  
she thought to herself as she finally compressed her jaw, to avoid looking quite obvious. Bulma turned around and rolled her eyes at him.  
  
"Trunks, can't you at least put a shirt on!?" she cried. "What, are you trying to make these girls pop a blood vessel or something!" Trunks and Ceres blushed profusely while Vegeta just laughed.  
  
"Relax, woman. He just came back from training." He cut in. Bulma let out a sigh and turned back around.   
  
"Ceres...the equipment is this way." she said flatly. Ceres cleared her throat and turned back to her work, exceedingly mortified. Trunks just smirked cockily.   
  
"Any luck?" he asked. Ceres happily turned around and opened her mouth to speak, but Bulma cut in purposely.   
  
"We're getting there. Just a little bit more." She answered.  
  
"So then we don't have to wait 3 days or anything?" Trunks reassured. The whole time Ceres was focused on his torso, much to his embarrassment.  
  
"Iie." Bulma said, pushing Ceres back. "We just have to keep working and not allow ourselves to become distracted." Bulma said, stressing her words to Ceres.  
  
"O-oh, of course..." she said nervously, and continued working. Trunks, growing annoyed, walked out of the room again. Goten and Reena automatically followed him for lack of anything better to go. They walked back towards the main quarters of Capsule Corp. and out the back door into the night.  
  
"Trunks where are you going?" Goten asked. Trunks stopped walking and turned around.   
  
"I'm going to train. Do you want to join me?" he asked. Goten nodded.  
  
"Hell yeah, I haven't sparred in a while." He replied. He then turned to Reena apprehensively. "Do you want to spar with us?" he asked. Trunks shifted his weight and folded his arms.   
  
"I...I'm not sure." Reena replied, looking down at the moonlit grass. "You two are far superior to me in skill, and I don't want to hold you back." Goten sighed.  
  
"Reena, don't worry. If you're that afraid, we'll hold back. And don't worry about slowing us down." Trunks interjected. Reena looked over at him.  
  
"Did you ever spar with Carina?" she asked. Trunks nodded slowly. "I did too. All the time, back on Vela." Reena explained.   
  
"Well let's go then. You can show us what you know." Goten said. Reena just nodded. Suddenly, Goten rushed at her without warning, and knocked her ten feet back. Reena grabbed her chest and fell to the ground. Goten, realizing what he had done, rushed over to her. Oh no. Oh no. Dende I am so sorry!" he said as he tried to help her up. "I...I just figured that you would have moved out of the way." Reena looked up at him, red in the face.  
  
"I-it's okay." She said in a shaky voice. "I think," she began, "that when we were aged synthetically, we lost the edge that we had possessed. We just need to gain that back before we go."  
  
"This Hermes...is he strong...stronger than Orion?" Goten asked, helping Reena to her feet. She coughed and inhaled deeply.  
  
"We're not entirely sure. Since he basically recreated himself, he could be potentially tough. There really is no way to tell."  
  
"How old is he?" Trunks inquired.   
  
"Based on Ceres' calculations, he's equal to 20 years on Earth." She answered. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"I'm just wondering." Trunks said, and then turned around, taking a few steps away from Goten and Reena both. The night sky was calm, and a cool breeze blew. There was just enough light from the moon and stars to illuminate the ground and paint everything shades of silver. He turned back to see Goten and Reena talking. After a few minutes, he saw a light come on in the main room in Capsule Corp. He then noticed two silhouettes running through the building, heading straight for the door where he had just walked though. He crouched into a defensive position as the figures burst out the door. When they came closer, he recognized them.  
  
"Kaasan...Ceres. What are you doing?" Trunks asked. Bulma and Ceres both had enormous smiles or pride on their faces. Goten and Reena, who were both sitting on the ground, looked up at them.   
  
"We have good news!" Bulma exclaimed, holding her hands behind her. Trunks' eyes brightened and he clenched his fists.  
  
"Did you figure out how to send us into the past?" Trunks asked eagerly. Bulma still smiled.   
  
"First things first." She said, and then brought her hands out from behind her back. In her palms were three small devices, no bigger than a dime. Trunks stepped closer and examined them.  
  
"What are they?" he asked.   
  
"These, Trunks, are my latest creation." Bulma exclaimed. "They're almost identical to the ones that Ceres, Sirius, and Reena are wearing."  
  
"The timeline preservers!" Trunks exclaimed, grabbing one from her hand and holding it close to his face.   
  
"Just place it on either temple, and it will attach itself to you." She said. "Go ahead, try it." Trunks nodded and held the device within a centimeter of his head. Automatically, it extended two little mechanical leg-like apparatuses, which stuck to his head. The machine then pulled itself onto his temple and fit snugly against his skin. Trunks was wide-eyed in what appeared to be fear.  
  
"Don't worry." Ceres explained. "They take come getting used to. We made one for your friend Goten too." She said. Goten immediately jumped up and headed over to Bulma, grabbing one of the machines too and placing it on his temple.   
  
"Wow, they feel just like bugs." He commented. Trunks just rolled his eyes.   
  
"What is the third one for? The others already have their own." Trunks asked his mother.   
  
"It's for Nat-chan." She said. "Keep this with you, and when you find her, you can give it to her until you are able to defeat Hermes. When he is destroyed, things should return to normal." Trunks stared at the tiny piece of equipment in his hands, and then closed his fist gently, slipping it into his pocket.   
  
"Hai." He replied.   
  
"Oh, there's something else we meant to tell you." Bulma said. Trunks, Goten, and Reena all looked at her concurrently. "We have devised a way for you five to travel back." She explained. Trunks perked up. "You'll be leaving tomorrow morning." 


	12. Chapter 12

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy   
  
Chapter 12 - The Journey Begins  
  
  
Trunks and Goten sat in Trunks' room on the second floor of Capsule Corp., discussing their preparations. They were all to leave the next morning, around noon. The idea was that they would all go in one of the Capsule Corp. pods, similar to the one that Goku had used to travel to Namek. Bulma had installed a time-travel device into the pod's main computer, which would take them back a few days before Carina would disappear.   
  
"But why can't we just go back and kill him there? Why do we have to come BACK to the present to fight?" Goten had asked.  
  
"We can't interfere with the past." Ceres explained. "If we destroy him in the present, everything should be reversed, and nobody on Vela would have any memories of the incident."  
  
"But what about Natalie. Will she remember anything?" Trunks asked.   
  
"We're not sure. In theory, she would, since, for her, everything would take place in the present. But there's no definite way to tell." Ceres answered.  
  
Now, having been informed of their mission, Trunks and Goten sat in silence, making sure that everything was ready. They would arrive on planet Vela in the year 780 ad, exactly one day prior to Carina's end. Sirius had warned them that when they would arrive, they would have to keep an extremely low profile, and only make contact if it was absolutely necessary. The problem they all faced was that Carina lived within the palace, and getting in would not be an easy task. The security was especially tight, since the beginning of the Vela war was impending. They had their work cut out for them, but there were no other options. If they decided to ignore the problem, not only would Natalie be killed for good, but also the fate of the universe had the possibility of changing. They were just lucky that all the changes hadn't taken place yet, and that they were still alive. Bulma's inventions ensured that they would remain unharmed as well.   
  
Sirius walked into the room, his presence commanding. To Trunks, Sirius reminded him of Vegeta in one of his prouder moments. But, Sirius was more of a hard, blunt character rather than sharp and spicy like his father had been when he was young. Trunks looked at Sirius, who stood with his arms folded and his head high, and the thought came to him, that Sirius had the presence of a great leader.   
  
"I came to tell you two to get some sleep." He said, looking at Trunks and Goten. "It's going to be a long journey, not just time-wise but physically demanding."  
  
"We have to go get some senzu beans from your tousan." Goten said. Trunks nodded and stood up, walking past Sirius and into the hallway. He could hear Reena and Ceres in Natalie's room, where they were to sleep, carrying on a conversation.  
  
"...and then he told me that he had never really had a serious girlfriend before, and I just melted. He was so sweet and sincere." Trunks could hear Reena talking. "Later, when he was talking to me, I couldn't help it. I leaned up and kissed him, right on the lips. It must have lasted for 5 seconds or so. I was really embarrassed, but he was totally cool about it." Trunks smirked. When he had first met the three Sidra-jin senshi, they presented themselves to he hardcore warriors, with no emotions in their eyes. But once they were comfortable with their surroundings, he could see them loosen up. Trunks turned and walked the opposite way towards the mater bedroom, and he could hear his mother.  
  
"Vegeta, don't act so tense. They're all at least sixteen years of age, and they're perfectly capable of handling themselves." She said. Trunks opened the door to see Bulma and Vegeta standing on opposite sides of their bed, seemingly arguing. Bulma turned to Trunks.  
  
"Do you need something Trunks?" she asked. Vegeta turned around as well with a scowl on his face.   
  
"I was just going to ask tousan if he had any senzu beans." Trunks replied. Vegeta, without saying a word, walked towards a dresser and opened a drawer.  
  
"There are only three left." He said, pulling out a brown, faded bag with string tied around the neck where the bag opened. He tossed the bad to Trunks, who caught them with his left hand. "Make sure you only use them when it's absolutely necessary. When you run out, that's it."  
  
"Hai." Trunks replied, and turned to leave.   
  
"Oh, Trunks." Bulma said. Trunks turned around and faced her.  
  
"We weren't fighting, if that's what you think." She said, and smiled. "We were just talking." Trunks nodded and then left, shutting the door behind him.  
  
"Woman, I don't see why you insist on-" Vegeta broke off as Bulma brought her lips to his. When she pulled away, Vegeta was blushing.  
  
"Vegeta, just relax for on night, huh?" she said, pulling him close.  
  
  
"Goten I got em." Trunks said, walking back into his room. Sirius was on the chair in the far corner, secluded from everything. "But tousan said that there are only three, so we have to use them sparingly."  
  
"That's good." Goten said. "As long as we have some, we should be fine."  
  
"What are they?" Sirius asked. Trunks and Goten turned to him.  
  
"Senzu beans. They recover your lost energy and repair body damages in a fraction of the time." Trunks said. "Say you had a broken bone, the senzu bean would heal it immediately and restore your health and stamina as well."  
  
"Interesting." He said, sitting forward and staring at the brown bag. "They must be very useful in battle."  
  
"They are." Goten said. "The only problem is that Korrin, who lives on Korrin's tower a ways from here, can only grow so many at a time."  
  
"I see. Well, three should be enough. I don't expect any problems while we're on Vela, but we'll most likely need them when we return."  
  
"Well I'm going to take them just in case." Trunks said, and tucked them into the pocket of his nylon cargo training pants, which he had laying on the bed to wear the next day.   
  
"Let's get to sleep. We need the rest." Sirius said. Trunks nodded.  
  
"I'll go tell the others." He said, and walked out the door and into Natalie's room, where Reena and Ceres were already fast asleep on Natalie's bed in borrowed pajamas. Trunks just stared over at Natalie's desk and turned out the lights, walked out, and shut the door behind him. As he walked back towards his room, he paused. These three strangers from outer space, who supposedly knew Natalie, were in his house sleeping in the rooms. He knew there was nothing wrong with it, but it just made him smile, because it reminded him of when he had first met Natalie. She was almost a stranger, and she lived with him in his house. She had even commented about it the day they met, when she was sitting in his room, wearing his clothes. Trunks eventually snapped out of his reverie and walked back into his room where Goten and Sirius were preparing for bed.   
  
"...They met about a year ago before Natalie knew about her powers. It was really strange how things worked out." Goten was explaining to Sirius when Trunks walked in. "Oh, hey Trunks." Goten said. "I was telling Sirius about-"  
  
"I know." Trunks interrupted. "Was he asking about it?"  
  
"I asked Goten how you and Carina met. We didn't expect you to know her when we came, but it was by good fortune that you did." Sirius answered.   
  
"It was definitely something. I think it was fate that we met, since it was on such a slim chance that we did." Trunks said. "The only reason I know her today is because I happened to bump into her one morning. If I hadn't gone out, I don't think we would have met. Orion would have already taken her before I would get the opportunity, and she wouldn't have stood a chance against him."  
  
"That is a strange coincidence. Well then it was meant to be, I assume." Sirius said, lying back on the small sofa against the wall. He was wearing one of Trunks' old tank tops and a pair of Vegeta's training pants.  
  
"Were Orion and Nat really supposed to be together?" Trunks asked, staring at the floor. Sirius paused.  
  
"That's a tough one to answer, really. It was apparent that Orion had somewhat of an affection towards her on Vela, but I don't think it was set in stone." Sirius explained. "Orion really wasn't an evil person...he was corrupted by Hesperos. Sure, he was always a little bit malevolent, but never to the degree which he was when he came here." Trunks shivered.  
  
"Well in a way I have to say that I'm glad he was corrupted, since I would never want Natalie anywhere near that cold hearted murderer." He said.   
  
"He wasn't a murderer at heart, mind you." Sirius said, almost defensively. "You would have had to known Hesperos to know how Orion became the way he did. I almost feel sorry for him because of the person he was made to be."  
  
"How can you feel sorry for him!" Trunks cried. "He came here and killed me, killed Goten, my tousan, Goten's tousan...and he didn't even flinch."  
  
"That's impossible. If he killed you then how are you sitting in front of me right now?" Sirius said.  
  
"We have these things on Earth, called Dragon Balls." Trunks explained. "There are seven of them. When you gather all seven, you bring them together, say a chant, and an enormous dragon comes out and grants you one wish. You can even bring people back to life, as long as they didn't die of natural causes."  
  
"Well why don't we just use these 'Dragon Balls' to with Carina back and Hermes to die?" Sirius asked.  
  
"You can't do that. You can only make a wish that is within the power of the Dragon Balls, and I don't think that wish would be approved. Plus they aren't active for a couple of months." Trunks said. "When you make a wish, the balls scatter and turn to stone, and you can't use them for 365 days."  
  
"I see." Sirius said.   
  
"Besides, Nat has already been wished back, and you can't revive a person more than once." Trunks continued.   
  
"Nani? You mean she died as well?" Sirius said.  
  
"Hai..." Trunks said. "One day, right after the second encounter with Orion, she overexerted herself in training..."  
  
Suddenly, a very sleepy Bulma walked into the room. Trunks turned around in surprise and jumped back.  
  
"Trunks you three need to be in bed. If you don't get enough sleep I am not sending you guys out tomorrow." She said. Trunks nodded and Bulma walked out of the room.  
  
"She treats me like I'm five years old sometimes..." Trunks whispered. After a few more minutes of conversation, the three teens were out like lights.   
  
  
  
The next day, Trunks awoke with a start, very early in the morning. He looked to the window and saw that the sky was just starting to lighten and it was a dark blue color. Beams of grey light shone into the room, making everything just visible. Trunks didn't know where he was at first, and as his memory rushed back to him, he remembered his present situation. He glanced at the digital clock on his desk across the room and realized that it was only 5:26 in the morning.   
  
Trunks though to himself. Finally, he slowly crept out of the room, making sure not to awaken Goten or Sirius, who were sleeping on blankets on the floor. He snuck out the door to his bedroom and headed downstairs. The carpeted stairs creaked a little, but he doubted that anyone would hear him. He decided that he was going to go train lightly in the gravity room, only setting the G-synthesizer to 20 times.   
  
Just as he reached the bottom stair, he thought he heard a noise coming from upstairs, but after a few minutes of silence, he dismissed it, figuring that someone was just stirring. Trunks had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, and as he tiptoed around his own home in the grayish blue morning light, it set the scene and made him all the more nervous.   
  
He finally got to the back door, switched off the alarm, and unlocked it very slowly and carefully. He stepped into the cool morning air and inhaled deeply. He walked through the dew-glazed grass to the front of the gravity room. He was just going to warm up, but he didn't dare use his ki for fear of waking anyone sensitive to it. When he arrived at the entrance of the gravity room, he flung open the heavy, metal door. Before he entered he set the controls on 20 G's, and pressed the initiation button. He listened to the gravity chamber power on and obtain a steady hum before stepping in. He turned around to shut the door, and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw a figure standing in the doorway. After his heart started to beat again, the figure stepped into the artificial light of the gravity chamber.  
  
"Ceres! What in Dende's name are you doing here?" Trunks cried, catching his breath. She just chuckled lightly and stepped completely into the room.  
  
"I heard you awaken and decided to follow you." She said. "Why, did I frighten you?"  
  
"Dende, Ceres you scared the shit out of me." Trunks said. "You should go back inside and go back to bed."  
  
"How come you're allowed to get up and I'm not?" she asked, folding her arms.  
  
"That's because I couldn't sleep." Trunks said. "I was nervous about today. I came in here to cool off."  
  
"Well I couldn't sleep either." She said, leaning against the wall and frowning. "I was just curious, that's all."  
  
"What if Reena wakes up? Shouldn't you be there so she won't be lonely or afraid?" Trunks said, obviously trying to get back to what he had intended to do.   
  
"No, Reena will be fine. Besides Sirius and that kid Goten are just down the hall. She's a smart one, she'll figure something out." Ceres said. Trunks sighed heavily and placed his hands on his hips. Suddenly, Ceres stepped closer. "Besides, what if you get lonely?" she said seductively, inching towards him. Trunks had a horrified look on his face, as he stood, frozen in confusion. A bead of sweat ran down his cheek as his heart began to beat faster.   
  
"Ceres..." he started, but she put her index finger to his lips.  
  
"Hush." She said, and leaned in for the kill. Trunks grabbed her wrists before she could get any closer and pushed her away gently.  
  
"Ceres what are you doing?" he said, stepping away from him.   
  
"Aw, come on Trunks." She said, looking down at the floor and frowning pitifully. "Don't you like me?"  
  
"Not like that." He answered. "Besides, I can't...Natalie..." he broke off. Ceres produced an angry look on her face.   
  
"Carina again, huh?" she said, somewhat annoyed. "Well, let me just tell you something. Carina isn't what everyone makes her out to be. She's too blind and weak to know how to use her power, and she's nothing but an obstacle."  
  
"Nani!?" Trunks said, surprised.   
  
"You heard me. Back on Vela, it was so apparent that Orion liked her. I don't think she liked him in return, but she allowed him to hang on to her by a thread." Ceres said bitterly. "What she didn't know, was that I liked him! NO, I loved him."  
  
"Ceres maybe you should go back in-" Trunks broke off.  
  
"No. It's not fair!" Ceres said, her eyes growing teary. "She always had what I wanted! She was practically a saint back on Vela, and she could have anyone she wanted. But she chose Orion of all people!"  
  
"No, Ceres...Orion chose her. And Nat isn't without fault, but she's not a bad person." Trunks said, taking pity on the girl. "Besides...you seemed to like her when you first arrived.  
  
"Oh what do you know?" she continued. "You've only known her for a year. I grew up with her." Suddenly, two more figures stepped into the light, revealing themselves as Goten and Sirius.  
  
"Trunks what are you doing here?" Goten asked, and then noticed the shaken Ceres standing next to him.   
  
"Oh...Sirius." Ceres said, and then a devilish smile formed on her lips amidst her flushed complexion. "Trunks and I...we were just," she said, wrapping her arm around his waist, "well all I can say is that Trunks here is a good kisser." Ceres said. Trunks almost fell over, but straightened himself out.  
  
"Nani!?" he cried. Goten looked at Trunks contemptuously and folded his arms.   
  
"Trunks you make me sick." he said, and walked away. Sirius just shot him a glare and then left as well, leaving Trunks and Ceres behind. Trunks turned and looked at Ceres with a furious look on his face.  
  
"Why the hell did you say that just now!?" Trunks shouted aggressively.   
  
"Relax Trunks it was a joke. I think you friends can figure that out for themselves." She said. "But for now..." she continued, placing her two forefingers on his forehead. He tried to back away but her hand started to glow and he was paralyzed. A few seconds later, she let go. Trunks stared straight forward, blinking a few times, before looking around confusedly.  
  
"N...what just happened?" he said, placing his hand behind his head. Ceres looked to the side with an amused look on her face.  
  
  
"Nothing happened Trunks, what do you mean?" Ceres said innocently. He just shook his head.  
  
"I don't know." He trailed off. "But, I came here to train lightly, so you should leave." He informed her. She just shrugged her shoulders and walked out of the gravity room, shutting the heavy metal door behind her. The sound reverberated around the room for a few seconds before fading into nonexistence.   
  
Trunks stretched his arms for a few seconds and dropped to his knees, preparing to do some pushups.  
  
"That was too weird." He said out loud. "I think she's up to something."  
  
  
Twenty minutes later, Trunks had finished his light workout and he shut the gravity generator off from inside the chamber. After he readjusted to normal gravity, he exited the room with a few beads of sweat lingering on his jaw line. He walked through the backyard, passing the Capsule 009 ship that they would be using to travel to Vela. Shadows were cast over most of its form, but the letters "Caps" were seen in between blankets of darkness. He turned and walked back inside, and headed upstairs towards his room, when he ran into Goten.   
  
"Goten what time is it, do you know?" Trunks asked. Goten just looked at him condescendingly.  
  
"I don't know, perhaps you could ask Ceres!" he said sarcastically, and pushed his way past on his way down the stairs. Trunks just stood in place, lost in confusion.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Trunks called down to Goten.  
  
"You know very well what I'm talking about!" Goten shouted. "We know all about you and Ceres, and what you did in the gravity room."  
  
"NANI!? Who told you that I did anything with Ceres?" Trunks cried.   
  
"We saw you." Goten said, and then left the room.  
  
"Goten I swear, I didn't do anything! We were just talking!" Trunks called out, but Goten had already walked out of hearing range. And if he had heard, he didn't bother answering. "What the hell is going on here?" he said to himself. On his way down the hall, he literally bumped into Sirius.  
  
"Gomen." Trunks said. "Hey Sirius what's gotten into Goten?"  
  
"He's angry at you, because of what you did." Sirius said. "Don't tell me you didn't notice."  
  
"I did, but I don't know where he got his ideas." Trunks said. "I never touched her. She came into the gravity room just as I was about to start training, and then the next thing I remember is standing up next to her."  
  
"It was pretty clear what you did. And apparently Goten isn't too fond of it." Sirius said. Trunks growled in anger.   
  
"Well it's a lie." He spat. "And I'm going to find out who told it."  
  
"Not now, Trunks, we have more important things to worry about." Sirius said. "You need to encapsulate your things so we can load them onto the ship."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I just don't understand where this came from. Does Ceres know about it?" he asked. Sirius raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Are you being sincere?" he asked in a flat tone. Trunks just rolled his eyes and started stomping off towards Natalie's room where Reena and Ceres were. He threw open the door, not bothering to knock, but immediately regretted doing so when they screamed and covered themselves up. Trunks jumped back, slammed the door, and blushed furiously. After he gathered his senses, he cracked the door just a little bit to allow his voice to travel in. "G-gomen nasai...." He stammered, and then shut the door. Sirius was still looking at him crookedly.   
  
Suddenly, Vegeta emerged from the master bedroom down the hall with his usual scornful expression.  
  
"What are you bakas doing? You're supposed to be getting ready." He said harshly. Sirius just stared at him with a major sweat drop.  
  
"Tousan we were just...discussing our...mission." Trunks filled in. Sirius raised his hand and opened his mouth to speak, but Trunks stepped on his foot. Vegeta eyed them suspiciously and then walked past them, brushing against them coldly. Sirius followed him with his eyes until he was downstairs and out of sight.  
  
"Er...I guess we should do what he says." Trunks said hastily, and started for his room. Goten then walked up the stairs and would have smacked into him the second time, had Trunks not darted out of the way. Goten, without words, just shot an icy glare at Trunks and walked into his room.  
  
"Damn, I need to go talk to him before he gets the wrong idea." Trunks said.  
  
"I think he already does have the wrong idea. You and Ceres were pretty convincing." Sirius commented. Trunks scowled.   
  
"How many times do I have to tell you? I didn't do a damn thing with that Ceres!" Trunks cried. Just as he said that, Ceres and Reena walked out into the hallway. Reena looked at Trunks, and then at Sirius in confusion, and Ceres just smiled and blushed. Sirius looked over at her.  
  
"Ceres tell us the truth. Did you or did you not kiss Trunks, and/or he kiss you?" he asked. She looked at Trunks for a moment and the back at Sirius.  
  
"I am telling the truth! I don't know why he has to pretend it never happened, because it did." She said, disguising her voice to make herself sound distressed. Everyone, with the exception of Ceres herself, turned and glared at Trunks.   
  
"Think what you want, but this girl is LYING." Trunks shouted, and stormed into his room. He threw himself onto his bed and placed his chin in his hands. "I can't believe this. On the very day we leave, something had to come up. And I know that that baka Ceres is telling a lie." He spoke bitterly to himself. They'd soon see.   
  
"Why don't you just tell the truth, Trunks?" Goten said, still in a disdainful tone, walking out of the bathroom. "Everybody knows about it, there's no point in trying to lie your way out. Pretending to be innocent only makes things worse than they already are."  
  
"But I'm not lying Goten!" Trunks cried. "You should know me better than that! Sure, I may have said false things in the past, but I would never lie about something like this!" Goten just looked at Trunks for a few seconds and then turned his back to him, folding his arms.   
  
"Well if you are right, what were you and Ceres doing in the gravity room?" Goten asked.   
  
"I...I don't remember. I was in the room, about to start warming up, and the next thing I know I'm standing up next to Ceres and she's telling you guys that we were kissing. I must have blacked out or something." Trunks said. Goten made a brief hissing sound through his teeth.  
  
"I'll take your word for it this time Trunks." Goten said, turning back around to face him. "But mark my words, if I see anything that confirms my suspicions in the future, you can kiss my trust in you goodbye."   
  
"I know you won't, because this whole thing never happened." Trunks said, staring at the ground. Vegeta walked in and scowled.  
  
"Trunks! How many times to I have to tell you to get a move on? What, do I have to hold your hand like a little baby?" he mocked. Trunks growled softly.  
  
"Tousan I'm working on it. Just have some patience." Trunks retaliated.  
  
" What little patience I have if getting very thin." Vegeta said. "Have you encapsulated your equipment?"   
  
"Iie. Not yet." Trunks said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I was on my way." Vegeta let out a sigh and walked away. Trunks looked back at Goten. "Have you encapsulated yet?" he asked. Goten nodded his head and pulled out a small case, which he flipped open to reveal three, color-coded capsules. He quickly shut the case again.  
  
"That's what I did downstairs while you and Sirius were arguing." He said.  
  
"I'm getting a really bad feeling about going now." Trunks said, sitting on the floor of his room. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to handle it."  
  
"Sure you can, Trunks." Goten ensured. "I think that if one person can do it, it's you, being the son of a prince and all, and having witnessed his pride." Trunks didn't say anything. "Besides, if we don't go, Natalie would never have another chance. You should be wanting to go as much as, if not more than the rest of us."  
  
"Well I don't think I have much of a choice nonetheless." Trunks sneered. "How long is this trip going to take, do you know?" Goten shook his head no, and Trunks stood on his feet. "I'm going downstairs to get this stuff encapsulated." He said, and then walked out of the room, dragging his things behind him. He walked downstairs to the Capsule Corp. equipment room and found one of the machines that he was looking for. He stared at it for a moment, and then snapped out of his trance and ran his bad through it. After a few minutes, a nice, neat little capsule popped out the back of it and the machine bleeped and shut itself off. Trunks grabbed the capsule and dug through a pile of cases, located the right size, and then left, placing his capsule inside the case on his way up the stairs. His task completed, he turned his head up in front of him and saw Reena walking out of his room and back into Natalie's, where Ceres was sitting on the bed in her armor. All three of them had some sort of crest on the left breastplate of their body armor. It was the same one that Orion had. Trunks shuddered. He was still having a hard time grasping the concept that Orion and Natalie had grown up together.  
  
"Trunks, you gonna shower?" Goten said, emerging from the room, holding a towel.   
  
"Hai." Trunks replied. "But you can go first."  
  
"Domo." Goten replied, and walked back into the room. Trunks signed heavily. His mind was racing, and his adrenaline pumped at the thought of his mission. He looked down and realized that his hands wee shaking. He clenched them into fists and watched as the tendon in his forearm stuck out about a quarter of an inch. What was wrong with him? Was it the time shift, or his nervousness? He could hear the muffled voices of Reena and Ceres coming from Natalie's room. He could only make out a few words of what they were saying, and he assumed they were discussing the mission and their plans. His stomach rumbled, telling him that he needed to eat. He shuffled down the stairs in a lethargic fashion, finally reaching the first floor with a "plop". As he trudged towards the kitchen, his stomach rumbled again.  
  
"I know, I know." He spat. He rummaged through the refrigerator, coming across some leftover teriyaki chicken. He opened the container and sniffed it before putting some in a bowl. As he shoved it into the microwave to heat it up, he could hear someone walking down the stairs. He just assumed it was one of the Sidra-jins, and didn't pay it much attention. Then, when two arms embraced his body, he spun around in surprise. "Oh...gomen, kaasan." He said, realizing that it was his mother. She looked at him strangely.  
  
"What's wrong with you?" she asked. "You seem paranoid."  
  
"Nothing...I thought you were someone else." He muttered. The microwave beeped to signal the end of the heating cycle, and Trunks pulled the steaming bowl out, preparing to eat it.  
  
"Well I just wanted to tell you that we're going to miss you." She said.  
  
"We?" Trunks questioned.  
  
"Me, and your tousan." She said, and paused, smiling. "You know he will miss you, don't you?"  
  
"H...hai." Trunks replied. "I guess so."   
  
"He will. And Bra as well." She continued. "You won't be able to see her before you leave. But we'll make sure she knows."  
  
"Okay." Trunks said. He shoved a piece of chicken into his mouth and chewed only a few times before swallowing. He did the same a couple more times.  
  
"Trunks what's wrong? You're not even chewing your food before you swallow." Bulma said. "Are you nervous?"  
  
"No." Trunks said quickly...too quickly. Bulma, having obviously seen through it, folded her arms and frowned.  
  
"Trunks don't lie to me. You're letting your pride get in the way." She sighed. "Just like your tousan."  
  
"Gomen kaasan, but I can't help it." Trunks said, looking away bitterly.   
  
"Don't you worry. You will get her back." Bulma said sternly. "If there's one thing I have faith in these days, it's you, Trunks. And I mean that." Trunks looked at her. "You are going to go on that journey and you will overcome the odds. I know, because you are driven by a passion for fighting, and a love for her." She finished. Trunks stood in inert shock at what his mother had just said. He swallowed hard and tried to think of something to say in return. "Oh, Trunks?" she added. He questioned her with his eyes. "What's this I hear about you and Ceres?" Trunks growled in protest and slammed his hand into the counter, imprinting a slight dent into the surface.  
  
"Don't tell me you believe that, kaasan!" he cried.   
  
"I was just-"  
  
"I don't know why she has spread this lie! Now everyone thinks that I was making out with her in the damn gravity room, and it will surely get back to Natalie. That's the last thing I need, after all she is already going to be wary of me for a while because of what I did to her." Trunks shouted. When he was finished, he inhaled deeply. Bulma just stood, unable to produce words. Vegeta walked in and observed the scene.  
  
"Trunks!" he shouted. Trunks looked up. "Don't you dare yell at your kaasan like that! If you have a problem, you can take it out on me, understand?" Trunks' jaw dropped. "She didn't do anything to you, and you certainly don't have a reason to shout at her!"  
  
"Hai..." Trunks trailed off, looking rather sheepish. Bulma smiled and turned around to face her mate.  
  
"Arigatou, Vegeta, but I don't think Trunks meant to take out his anger on me." She said. Vegeta sighed angrily.   
  
"Fine." He spat. He then looked back at Trunks. "Have you finished everything?"  
  
"Iie. I still have to shower." Trunks replied. "But, I encapsulated my things."  
  
"Good. We've changed your departure time to 9:00 since you all have gotten an early start." He continued. Trunks let his shoulders roll forward as he leaned against the counter. He nodded as he picked at his meal with his chopsticks, separating the chicken from the snow peas and water chestnuts.   
  
"Vegeta, have I told you lately that you're cute?" Bulma said, stifling a laugh. Vegeta produced an embarrassed look on his face and blushed before walking away swiftly. Trunks just shrugged and took another large bite.   
  
"Kaasan, what are you going to do when we leave?" Trunks inquired.  
  
"Trunks, don't talk with your mouth full of food." Bulma said. Trunks pathetically gulped his food down. "I don't really know right now. I would just go back to Hawaii, but we would need Goku to teleport us, and I don't have any equipment in my lab to get in contact with him."  
  
"Don't you have their...room number?" Trunks said, his eyebrow twitching. Bulma facefaulted.  
  
"Oh...yeah..." she said. Trunks finished his food and literally threw the dish into the sink before walking out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.  
  
  
3 hours later:  
  
  
Trunks, having showered and loaded his things into the capsule pod, was sitting about five feet away from Goten on the grass in the backyard. All five of the warriors were outside, with Ceres and Sirius standing next to the pod, and Reena sitting timidly on the grass by herself. Goten glanced over to her, but immediately looked away at making eye contact with her.   
  
"Why don't you just go over there?" Trunks whispered to his friend. Goten turned red and clenched his teeth.  
  
"Shutup!" he whispered harshly. "She might hear you..."  
  
"Oh, relax Goten." Trunks said. "She's just a girl."   
  
"Me relax? You're the one who was a bundle of nerves when Nat was new here." He replied.   
  
"Hey Reena." Trunks called. She looked up at him. "Why don't you come sit over here?" Goten tried not to fall over. She nodded quickly and scooted towards them. Goten shot daggers at Trunks with his eyes.  
  
"Gomen...I'm usually more talkative than this." Reena explained. "But, I'm just nervous...that's all."  
  
"Don't worry about that. I think we all are." Goten said. She looked up at him and smiled. Suddenly, Bulma and Vegeta emerged from the back door and walked over towards them. The five lined up in front of the pod without words.  
  
"Alright." Bulma started. "Here's your itinerary. You board the pod, and there are two main floors. The main one, or the level you are on when you enter, contains the main control panel. Your route is already plugged into the processing unit, so you won't have to worry abut navigating unless there is a system failure, in which case there are tracking charts in the compartment below the panel. The space-time wave generator is programmed in as well, but you will need to initiate the generator manually. In the two days it will take for you to travel to the planet, the generator will have taken you back to the year 780. Now, the second floor, or the cabin area, contains beds, a shower, and food storage. This floor is accessible by a set of stairs in the northeast section of the pod. And, those are the basics. Should you need to make contact with me, there is a telecommunication device located on the main control panel. However, it will not work after a certain point, I estimate about midway through your trip. Any questions?" There was a long silence, with no noise present other than the slight breeze and a few chirping birds. "This is not a toy, kids." Bulma said firmly. "It's a multimillion dollar piece of equipment."  
  
"Relax, woman, they aren't going to break it." Vegeta said. Bulma sighed.  
  
"You people have no appreciation for technology!" she cried. She then turned back to the group. "Gomen..."   
  
"Kaasan, we'll be fine." Trunks assured. He stepped forward and gave her a quick embrace before stepping back to the level of the others. Bulma smiled and stepped back until she was 20 feet from the pod. She nodded, signaling to them that they could go aboard the pod. As they stood in the doorway, she waved to them. Vegeta just nodded, his arms crossed firmly over his chest.   
  
The five entered the cold, sterile pod and inspected their surroundings. Trunks walked to the main control panel and observed the setup. He pressed the button to shut the door, causing a loud bang to echo around the large, round room. He then initiated the engine startup sequence, and the pod suddenly became alive with a faint humming sound. The control panel's lights were blinking and flashing as it ascended to full power.   
  
"Ready?" he said, looking at the other four. They all looked at him and nodded simultaneously. Trunks pushed up on the switch slowly and steadily, causing the generator to flash and the humming to grow in intensity. "Let's go." Trunks said, and the pod rocketed off the ground.   
  
Bulma looked up at the pod, her hair and clothes rippling in the gust of air caused by the takeoff, and smiled. 


	13. Chapter 13

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 13 - The Flight, part one  
  
  
"Trunks, did you start the space-time wave generator?"  
  
"Hai."   
  
"Did you check the system's operations?"  
  
"Hai..."  
  
  
Trunks awoke suddenly, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. He looked around frantically.  
  
"What...?" he said, realizing that he was in his room. "I...I thought..." he trailed off. Suddenly, a figure walked into his room. "Natalie!" he cried, sitting upright. She looked at him with tears in her eyes. Trunks literally jumped out of his bed and ran over to her. As he went to embrace her, his body went right through hers, as she stood in place. Trunks spun around in horror and looked at her, waving his hand through her body to no avail.  
  
"Trunks, why did you let me die?" she said, a tear streaming down her face. Trunks' heart pounded so loudly in his chest, he was sure that she could hear it.  
  
"N...Natalie I..." he said, choking on his own words.  
  
"I thought you loved me." She said, looking down towards the ground where one of her tears splashed. Outside, the sky grew dark and a strong wind picked up.  
  
"But Natalie I do." He said, taking a step toward her. He could hear his pulse in his ears, and thought his heart would burst with anguish and terror. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him, outstretching the palm of her left hand.  
  
"NO!" she cried, her hand glowing. "You did not love me! You KILLED me!" Suddenly, two figures appeared behind her. One was Orion, and the other was hidden in the shadows. Both laughed maniacally. Suddenly, she fired an enormous wave of energy toward him. The last thing he saw was Natalie's tear streaked face; the last thing he heard was that horrible laughter. Then, everything went black.  
  
"NOOOOOO!" he screamed.   
  
"Trunks!" Goten cried, shaking his friend violently. Trunks was jerked back to reality and opened his eyes. He slowly focused on the figures of Goten and a very worried Reena. He was drenched in cold sweat, and his temples were throbbing. He coughed a couple of times to make sure his body was functioning properly before supporting himself on wobbly elbows. "Trunks, relax. It was just a nightmare." Trunks drew in a shaky breath.  
  
"That was almost more than I could handle." He said, trembling.   
  
"Trunks, are you okay?" Goten asked, concern in his eyes.   
  
"Iie...what happened?" he questioned.   
  
"I should be asking you the same thing." Goten said. "You had been sleeping for a couple of hours, and I was up minding the controls, when all of the sudden, Reena ran up to me and said that you were screaming."  
  
"I had this horrible nightmare, Goten. I was at home, and Natalie tried to... no...she did kill me. And the whole time, Orion, and this shadowy figure were watching on while laughing." Trunks said. Goten looked at him with concern filled eyes.  
  
"Trunks, maybe you should go...get a shower or something." Goten said.   
  
"I'm just fine Goten." Trunks insisted. "It was just a dream."  
  
"I was only trying to help." Goten said defensively. Trunks sighed and hung his head.  
  
"Yeah, I know." He replied. "Gomen..."   
  
"Trunks why don't you just let me take over for a while." Goten said. Trunks just nodded silently. Goten got up and left, walking up the stairs to the main floor. Reena stayed behind.   
  
"Trunks?" she asked timidly. He looked up at her. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but what is going on with you and Ceres?" she asked. Trunks fought to control his anger and suppress his ki.  
  
"I don't know." He said through clenched teeth. "I'm being totally honest with you, all I remember is being in the gravity room and seeing her come in, and the next thing I know, I'm standing up next to her, and Goten is yelling at me." He said.  
  
"Well, the thing is..." she said, looking around to make sure that nobody was looking, "I believe you." Trunks appeared to be rather shocked.  
  
"You do?" he said, making sure that he had heard correctly. She nodded.  
  
"Yes. See, Ceres...she's one of these people that, you can't really trust one hundred percent of the time." She confessed. "And, from what Goten has told me about you, I have reason to believe that she is the one lying." Trunks looked at the floor.  
  
"Well, Reena, I have to say it's a relief that someone is actually on my side." He said, almost in a joking manner. She smiled. "I don't want any of this to get back to Natalie, because I really don't have any idea of what she will read of the situation."   
  
"Hopefully this will be resolved before then. We still have over one and a half days left before arrival." She informed him. Trunks brought himself to his feet and shifted his weight back and forth until he had reached comfortable stance.   
  
"If this Ceres is such a bad person, then why do you align yourselves with her?" Trunks inquired suspiciously.  
  
"But she isn't bad, Trunks. She has just been known to be a bit unreliable from time to time." Reena answered.  
  
"You know about her antagonistic approach of Natalie as well, then do you?" he said, trying to clarify the situation. Reena looked down at her feet.  
  
"I didn't know...that she had such a grudge against the princess that she would go so far as to steal her mate...which, you are, right?" she said, looking back at Trunks.  
  
"Hai." He said, offering a quick nod. "Do you have a relationship with someone back on Vela?" Reena looked like she had been stabbed directly in her heart. Trunks began to console her, but she spoke.  
  
"I did." She said, her voice bordering on a break down. "H...his name was Belsevi."  
  
"Do you not want to talk about it?"   
  
"It's okay." She said, forcing a smile amidst her trembling lips. "He was two years older than me, and a soldier in the army. His rank and class were nothing out of the ordinary. But, he was very compassionate and caring. A lot of times, the Vela-sei soldiers were very cocky, especially the higher ranking ones. But not Belsevi. I hoped to marry him one day..." she trailed off. Trunks looked at her, feeling extreme empathy for the trembling girl.   
  
"What happened?" he asked.  
  
"He...was killed. He was orbiting Vela, with a few of the soldiers in his division, running a test on one of the space cannons. Everything was...going fine. Then, on their last day in orbit, their ship exploded suddenly and unexplainably. Nobody knew why."  
  
"Reena..." Trunks started.  
  
"We later discovered that it was Hesperos himself. It was the first devastating blow of the Vela war." She finished. By now she had a tear-streaked face. Trunks had no idea of how to console her. Sure, he knew the feeling of emptiness when you lost a loved one, but he had never even attempted to live with the loss for a long period of time.   
  
"Reena, I thought you and the other two departed before the war." He said.   
  
"Iie. We left right as the planet was destroyed. Queen Melina...I'll never forget the look on her face." She explained. Trunks had to force her to stop; he couldn't stand the tragic account. Just then, Goten descended down the stairs and made his way over to the pair.   
  
"Trunks...what's going on here?" he whispered to his friend. Trunks was without words. Goten looked over at Reena, all alone, trying to control her sobs, and had pity on her. Here, she was suffering greatly, while all the time trying to help another. He immediately took her in his arms and she buried her face in his chest, finally letting it all out. Trunks instinctively left the cabin area and climbed the stairs to the main floor. Sirius and Ceres were discussing their plans on the far side. They both looked up at him when he entered, and then back down at the control panel, where it appeared that they were making calculations of some kind.   
  
"I think that we should land near the city of Hespera." Ceres suggested. "The rural area is not heavily populated and our landing would be inconspicuous."   
  
"What about the Astra-Hoshi lab and observatory?" Sirius asked. Ceres bit her lower lip for a few minutes, and then turned to Trunks.  
  
"Does this ship have stealth features?" she asked. Trunks walked over to the pair and looked down at the control panel.   
  
"Isn't the course already set?" he asked.  
  
The course is set for the planet, but we have to target its landing point." Sirius answered. "But, we need to hide this pod from the planet's targeting equipment, especially since the war is approaching and the orbital defense stations are in high guard."  
  
"There is a way..." Trunks said. "But I'm not entirely sure. I'll try to contact kaasan." Trunks walked over to the main panel and pressed a button on a board at his eyelevel. As he pressed the button, he spoke into it. "Kaasan?" he paused. "Kaasan are you there? We need your help." After a few more seconds of silence, Trunks was about to give up, when there was a reply.   
  
"Trunks?" she replied. There was heavy interference, but the voice was still recognizable.   
  
"Kaasan, how do you go into stealth mode with this capsule ship?" he asked. There was another delay. Trunks figured it was a result of the enormous distance between them, and the signal had to reach the planet before it was intercepted.   
  
"Hai...stealth ...is...the..." her signal began to break up. Trunks, in a panic, started trying to get back in touch with her.   
  
"Kaasan? Kaasan!" he cried into the speaker. "Your signal is breaking up!" After a delay of about ten seconds, there was a reply.   
  
"The...panel...button...important..." was all he got in reply. He tried again.  
  
"Kaasan, try to boost the signal. I can't hear you!" there was more static from the panel, and then it went dead. Trunks slammed his fist into his other palm in frustration.   
  
"Damnit!" he cried. He opened the compartment containing the tracking charts, and searched for some kind of instructions. Goten and Reena returned to the main floor, and it was obvious that they had been having a very emotional talk. Goten's black shirt was stained with tears, and Reena's eyes were red and tired. Ceres and Sirius looked at her, and then at Goten, and back at her again. They then exchanged glances before going back to work.   
  
"I may be able to figure out he system configurations." Ceres said, stepping closer to Trunks...too close. He moved away instinctively. She glances at him sideways and then turned back to the panel. She ran her fingers lightly over the vast keyboard as her brain contemplated the solution. Still not finding the resolution she was looking for, she got down on her knees and opened up the bottom panel to display a wide array of wires every shade of the rainbow. She ran her fingers down the windows, trying to figure out what each set did and where their power source directed them. Trunks looked down at her and clenched his teeth in anger. He was angry with her for spreading the lie. He resisted the urge to yell at her right then and there. Finally, she broke his concentration with an exclamation. "I think I found it!" she declared happily. She traced the wire back to its initial button and shut the panel. She then got back onto her feet and placed her hand over a bluish purple button.  
  
"Is that the one?" Sirius asked.   
  
"Iie. It's a series of buttons. But I think I've got it down." She explained. She then punched the buttons on the panel in a blur, her fingers darting back and forth in a fury. Finally, she pressed the final command, and the lights dimmed ever so slightly, and there was a flash of light outside, which went dim, and a low, steady hum to add to the sound of the engine and time generator. She then turned around happily and beamed with pride. Even Trunks had to admit that he was quite impressed with he skills.   
  
"Great work, Ceres." Trunks said, however not to empathetically. She looked at him and blushed nonetheless.   
  
"Well, that generates the stealth forcefield around the ship. It absorbs all radar beams to prevent them from bouncing off and revealing our location." She explained.   
  
"But what about visuals? When we get close, won't they be able to see us?" Goten asked, still be Reena's side.   
  
"I thought about that." Ceres said. "We'll just have to worry about that when the time arrives."  
  
"But what can we do? The defense system is very strict." Reena said, worry apparent on her face. "They will demand identification, and if they don't recognize us, they will send us away. If we don't, they'll shoot us down." Ceres was deep in thought.  
  
"I have an idea." She said. Everyone looked at her. "Sirius, Reena...us three still have our identification codes in the breastplate of our armor." Trunks and Goten looked at their armor, much to the embarrassment of Ceres and Reena.   
  
"You mean, it's in that symbol there?" Goten asked, pointing to Sirius' armor. He nodded.   
  
"Hai...they contain our personal identification code. Every soldier on Vela-sei has one." He replied. "Does your computer have any type of input device?" Trunks nodded and pointed to the control panel on the opposite side of the main generator from where they were all standing. Sirius walked over and inspected it. It was a small sheet of glass with resided over some kind of scanner. He then looked up at Reena and Ceres.  
  
"Did you find anything?" Reena asked.   
  
"You two will have to take off your armor in order for us to scan the code into the computer." He said. They all exchanged glances before slipping out of the protective shell. Underneath, they all wore slim-fitting bodysuits, almost identical to the ones that Vegeta wore, with the exception that theirs were black instead of navy blue. Sirius had a tank top like suit on, which extended down his legs and into his boots. Reena and Ceres had long sleeves, which disappeared into their gloves. All three of then walked over to the scanner and held their armor over top of it, making sure that the sensory device could pick up the codes in the breastplates.   
  
"Your armor is very similar to that of the Saiya-jin armor." Trunks remarked. Goten nodded, because, indeed it was. The only few discrepancies were that their gloves and boots were made of a hard, metal-like substance instead of a softer, more flexible material. They also didn't have shoulder guards like the more primitive Saiya-jin armor.  
  
"Hai, it is. The models are very similar, but our design is more sleek, and has more capabilities." Ceres said.   
  
"What do you mean, 'capabilities'?" Goten said doubtfully.   
  
"Well, for one, we install communication devices in ours, as well as the identification microchips we're scanning now." She said. Goten shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"That is all way over my head." He affirmed. He then removed himself from the conversation and walked down to the cabin area again. Reena started to follow, but declined. The three Sidra-jins scanned their codes into the computer.  
  
"Now when we come within range of Vela-sei, we can just send our codes through the network." Sirius said. "And, you two will have to hide your power levels, or they will suspect us." Trunks nodded. "Now, do you guys have any food aboard this thing?" 


	14. Chapter 14

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 14 - The Flight, part 2  
  
  
Trunks was the first to wake. It seemed strange, trying to sleep on the pod, when there was no concept of day or night in space. But, his circadian rhythm was still in tune, so he managed a few winks. He credited the low hum of the ship to his ability to drift off. Low, lulling sounds seemed to have an affect on his sleeping patterns.   
  
He lay in his makeshift bed for a few moments, blankly staring into the blanket of darkness that covered the cabin area. Everything seemed so distant and cold to him. The thought made him shudder in his thin blanket. He heard Goten stir next to him. All five of them were sleeping on the floor. There were separate beds, of course, but somehow they had all managed to huddle together, as if they found strength and comfort in their numbers.   
  
Trunks sat on his elbows first, not wanting to get completely out of bed. He wanted to prevent the onslaught of vertigo that overtook him on mornings such as these. He muttered a couple of weak coughs, just to clear his airways of any blockage that may have developed during his period of sleep. Goten stirred again, huddling under his warm blanket like a small child.   
  
He finally found the strength to stand on both of his feet. He could tell by the lightness he felt all over that this was going to be a particularly rough day. Not in the emotional sense, but physically. Though, the emotional stress probably wasn't helping. His mind wandered again. He knew it wouldn't be very long before he thought of her again. The thought of her, Natalie, stirred such a foreign mix of sensations within his heart. He almost hated the way it made him feel vulnerable. He could see his father saying to him, "Listen boy. You are a Saiya-jin. Saiya-jins don't care for anybody. If you care for someone, it will render you weak." No, Vegeta had never really said those words, but the fact that it was so easy to imagine them coming out of his very mouth made it almost as bad. He knew that Vegeta loved his mother. Hell, anyone could tell.   
  
By now, Trunks was once again becoming frustrated with himself for being so weak. He wondered, was it really worth such anguish? Did the great Vegeta himself ever feel this way? Was this normal? He couldn't tell for sure. He had had a couple of contrite relationships previous to meeting Natalie. He wasn't new to the concept of love. But those others, did he feel true love for them? Or was it what he thought, or what he wanted to be love. In contrast to his feelings of her, the others were only grains of sand in the hourglass, and Natalie was time itself. He wondered if she had the same feelings for him as he had for her.   
  
His mind raced, gathering precious memories. Memories of her. He recalled the way she always smelled good. She never wore any fragrance; it was just a natural scent. It was just her. He remembered the sparkle in her eyes when she laughed. It was almost surreal. As these thoughts came flooding back to him, he scolded himself internally for having doubts about their relationship, for questioning his feelings. He knew deep down that he truly cared for her. Yet, there was something nagging at him. Something was indefinitely gnashing and tearing at his heart.   
  
"Trunks what are you doing awake already?" Goten mumbled. Trunks turned around and witnessed Goten sitting up in his bed, still enveloped in the blanket.  
  
"I woke up, and didn't want to lie in bed." Trunks replied. "Besides, it's about time to get up anyway, isn't it?"   
  
"Hai." Goten replied. "We should wake the others. What time do we arrive?" Trunks' heart suddenly sank. He had been so preoccupied with the thought of Natalie that he had completely forgotten about the mission. They were to arrive on Vela today!  
  
"I...I don't know." Trunks stammered. "But they should know." He said, thrusting a finger in the direction of the sleeping Sidra-jins. Ceres stirred, as if she recognized that she was being acknowledged.   
  
"Man, what a bunch of shit we're in." Goten commented. He then proceeded to turn on the overhead lights, which took some adjusting to after being in darkness for several hours. Trunks looked down at his clothes, and then at Goten's.   
  
"Tousan gave me some Saiya-jin armor to wear. I have an extra set for you too." He said. "In my bag. There are two capsules." Trunks hurried up to the main level and grabbed his bag, and ran back down to where Goten was still standing. Goten cracked his knuckles as Trunks removed the capsules from his bag, decompressed them, and threw then at the floor. As soon as the customary cloud of smoke cleared, there were two pairs of new Saiya-jin armor. But, the bodysuits were black, and the torso armor had shoulder-guards on them similar to the ones on the more primitive armor. Goten and Trunks stood, looking down at the armor for a few seconds of silence before shrugging their shoulders and picking up their respective sets. They immediately slipped into the snug armor, shifting their weight several times just to adjust to the new feel. Reena rolled over and yawned lazily before slowly opening her eyes. Since it was still moderately dark, she could only make out the figures of the two Saiya-jins, and, since they were wearing armor, she jumped away in shock.  
  
"Relax, Reena." Goten said. "It's just us." He extended a hand to help her up from the cold floor she was now sitting on. She happily accepted it, and stood to her feet. She extended her arms above her head and stretched, proceeding to wake the others. Ceres and Sirius were obviously heavy sleepers, because all three of them had to literally drag them out of bed. They were still wearing their bodysuits, which were also black.   
  
"You three need to get your armor on." Trunks said. "And, do you have any idea of what time we arrive?" Ceres' eyes opened wider as she forced herself awake.  
  
"We should be within targeting range." She said groggily. "Remember, we have a lot of preparations to make. I was thinking last night about the Vela-sei defense stations, and, since we are allies with Vegeta-sei, we shouldn't have to worry about you two. We will just have to stop by the station to check you in. They shouldn't have a problem with it, since Saiya-jins are not a threat to us."  
  
"That is all great, Ceres, but what about the landing?" Trunks said, trying to get an answer out of her.  
  
"Oh, the landing. Well, like I said, we should be within targeting range. That means that we will have to manually land on the planet, since there is no specific target locked into the ship's autopilot, and we don't just want to go crashing haphazardly onto the planet." She explained. "There are certain inter-spaceports that we can land safely in. Sirius and I thought about the city of Hespera, since it is rural and not densely populated, but, since the Vela-sei defense station will monitor us, I think we should land at one of the spaceports." She said, and turned to Sirius, who was having trouble keeping his eyes open. "What do you think? Should we land near the capital city where the princess is located or no?" Sirius nodded his head.  
  
"We need to land at spaceport Alpha-Sidra, since it is located on the outskirts of the main city of Sidra itself." He replied.  
  
"Sidra is the city that Nat lives in?" Trunks questioned. Sirius nodded, his eyes staring into nothingness, as he was deep in thought. "Then approximately how much time to we have left?"   
  
"I need to consult the control panel on the main level to determine our position in relation to Vela." He said. The five, without words, picked themselves up and walked up the small flight of stairs to the upper level. Sirius walked towards the control panel and pulled up the system's coordinates of the pod. He studied the map for a few minutes before speaking. "We have roughly two hours until we are close enough to see the planet from our position. We then have to go through the defense stations and target out landing point, which should only take about an hour."  
  
"Until then, we need to be preparing." Trunks said. "There are food and showers on the lower level. Does anyone need anything before I get in the shower?" Everyone shook his or her heads no. Trunks nodded and headed back downstairs. Within a few minutes, the sound of water flowing through the pipes could be heard. Trunks would be quick about it, since they had a limited supply of water aboard.   
  
"We have to be very inconspicuous on the planet, because we don't want to cause another time paradox." Sirius explained. Goten wasn't paying much attention, he was carrying on a conversation with the Sidra-jin girl Reena. He caught himself staring into her blue eyes dreamily a few times, and looked away in embarrassment. Reena hadn't noticed, or, she was masking the fact if she did. After a few minutes, Trunks returned up the stairs, his hair glistening in the low light with water drops running down his neck. He was wearing the black bodysuit of the armor set, but not the actual armor itself. Ceres did a double take, but immediately regained her equanimity and turned around. Reena and Ceres also looked up at him. Trunks stood, frozen in discomfiture, unable to gather words to speak. Goten finally broke the ice and spoke up.  
  
"Hey Trunks. Nice shower?" he asked, sitting on the floor in his armor. Trunks just grunted in reply. "Well I'm next. I don't know why we bothered putting this stuff on." He said, and stood up on his feet, taking off his chest armor as he headed for the stairs. As he walked downstairs, Trunks took a seat against the far wall, flexing his biceps as in preparation for some "battle". His mind wandered, and he felt numb all over, like he was floating aimlessly in space. Ceres' voice brought him back to reality.  
  
"Trunks, are you listening?" she asked. He shook his head to clear his mind and looked up.  
  
"Uh...what?" he said.  
  
"I said, are there any private or enclosed rooms on this pod?" she repeated, placing her hands on her hips.  
  
"Oh...iie. There aren't." he replied. "Why?"  
  
"Reena and I have to get ready as well, and you boys are always scurrying about." She said.   
  
"Don't worry, the shower walls are translucent, and you can't see anything. Besides, if we go down to the lower level, it won't be to look at you two." He said flatly, not intending to insult of compliment her. He was indifferent. Ceres showed a hint of desolation on her face in response to the comment. Goten ascended up the stairs, his hair wet as well, wearing the black bodysuit.   
  
"We have about 3/4 of the tank left, so there's plenty of water for the three of you." Goten said to the Sidra-jins. Sirius traveled down to the lower level, without words. Goten and Reena followed his tracks with their eyes.  
  
"Is there...something bothering him?" Goten asked.   
  
"That's just the way he is." Reena answered. "You'll have to get used to it. I think he's just preoccupied. He feels responsible for the four of us, being the oldest and all." Trunks wondered exactly how old the warrior was. He looked to be around Orion's age, but he couldn't tell for sure, with artificial aging and all. His maturity was around the level of a 30 year old, and Trunks assessed that it had to do with the kind of life he had lead.   
  
Ceres was leaning against the central control unit, watching Trunks and Reena diligently, her eyes darting back and forth between the two of them. Trunks wondered if this turn of events would affect the fate of Kira. He hoped like hell that it wouldn't.   
  
"Something wrong, Trunks?" Reena asked. Goten, who was sitting a few feet away from Reena, and across from Trunks, looked at him, and then back at her.  
  
"Oh...gomen. I'm just... engrossed in thought, that's all." He replied, partially lying. He was juggling the series of events in his brain, trying to make sense of it all. After all, they couldn't kill Hermes, original or clone, in the past, because they risked causing conflict with set events, which could not be reversed. Yet, if they killed him in the present, how would that affect the outcome of the past events on Vela? His mind was going around in circles, causing the development of a stress-induces headache. He desperately wished that there were separate chambers with gravity simulators, so that he could reduce stress, but his mother had not added the required elements into the computer.   
  
Trunks felt like he was going to explode. All of the residual water that had embraced his skin after the shower had now dissolved, whether it be from natural evaporation, of the heat of his skin which was flushed by anger.   
  
The stabilizing device on his temple was exasperating him, and he had to fight off the endeavor of ripping it off and hurling it into the wall before blasting it into oblivion. His mind started to roam again, and he began to manifest the events that led up to the death of Carina, his princess. He envisioned several scenarios, all of which were either too grisly to tolerate, or excessively quick and violent, leaving no trace of her behind whatsoever. Trunks was torturing himself...purposely. He told himself that he deserved the punishment for his actions. He still held onto the notion that if he hadn't malevolently attacked her, she would still be alive. He knew that he hadn't acted rationally. He recalled the strange entity almost, that overcame him, but at the same time, he was still present in mind and body. He also remembered the way he had attacked and insulted Goten, his best friend, without thinking twice. And the way he shunned his father. What had come over him? Was it sheer rage, or was it, perhaps, the not-so-prevalent, inexplicable effect of the time warp?   
  
"Trunks, I know what you're thinking about." Goten said, seizing him from his thoughts, where he was slammed forcefully into the harsh, bittersweet reality. "I want you to stop this."  
  
Trunks glared. Who was Goten to tell him what he should and shouldn't be doing?  
  
"You're going to hate me for this, but you can't let your emotions get in the way of this mission." Goten continued. "The last thing we need is you to become irrational and totally blow this mission for all of us. I understand why you feel the way you do, but if you look at the grand scheme of things, there is still hope." Trunks snarled and forced himself to his feet with quick, steadfast moves, and headed downstairs, mumbling something about getting some food. After he left, Ceres sat down and joined Goten and Reena. They looked at her critically, but made sure that she didn't notice their indignant expressions.  
  
"I wonder what his problem is." She spoke up, obviously desperate to be part of their conversation. Goten took the opportunity to emphasize the relationship between him and Natalie.   
  
"He misses her terribly." He said casually, though smirking inwardly. "I don't know what he would do with himself if she never returned." Reena noted his actions.  
  
"Oh yeah, it's really obvious that they have a strong bond." She said, squeezing Goten's hand. Ceres looked crushed, but immediately retaliated.   
  
"Well it sure wasn't apparent when he hit on me in the gravity room." She said, trying to ease her way back to the top. "I mean, not to get in the way of their relationship, but I don't think he's very loyal." Goten tried not to slap her right then and there. She knew exactly what she was doing.  
  
"I know Trunks better than any of you." He said, trying to control his anger. "I can promise you that he is not the disloyal type." Ceres narrowed her eyebrows.  
  
"Oh really?" she said malevolently. Reena interjected.  
  
"Ceres stop!" she said, becoming angry for the first time since Goten had met her. "You have no right to accuse Trunks of something like that!" Ceres stood up and hovered ominously over the two of them.   
  
"You just can't accept the fact that he doesn't love her like you want to believe! You are in denial!" she said in a harsh tone barely above a whisper. Just as she said this, Trunks walked up the stairs, carrying an armful of food, apparently having brought some for them as well. It was evident that he had heard what she said, based on the degree of shock that was written all over his face. However, much to the surprise of Goten and Reena, instead of hurling the food into the wall and shouting a slur of irrational words at her, he quietly and calmly approached. Ceres had a look of fear on her face now, not able to predict what his next plan of action would be. She took half a step backward as Trunks neared them. He crouched down and set the food next to Goten before standing up. He coolly approached Ceres and placed his hands on her shoulders, keeping his arms fully extended. She clenches her teeth and turned her head a 45-degree angle to the left to avoid direct onslaught.   
  
"You know, Ceres, I'm not going to let this get to me, because you are lying, and I am not." He said. Ceres turned to him in shock. "Now, if you just drop it, I'll forget it ever happened. Okay?"   
  
Goten and Reena were both looking on, their jaws dropped. Ceres, not able to draw words, just nodded her head slowly.  
  
"Good." Trunks said, and let his hands fall from her shoulders. He then turned back to Goten and Reena, and winked at them. Ceres timidly muttered something about having to talk to Sirius before departing from their presence and descending down the stairs. As soon as they were sure she was out of sight and hearing range, Goten and Reena looked up at Trunks in astonishment.   
  
"Trunks I never knew you had it in you." Goten commented, still not over his initial bout of shock.  
  
"Life's full of surprises, isn't it Goten?" he said, sitting down where he had been residing previously, before going downstairs to retrieve food. Goten was unsure of how to reply. Reena laughed lightly. Sirius now returned to the main level, dressed in his complete set of armor.   
  
"Is Ceres showering?" Reena inquired. He offered a quick nod in her direction, not really expressing much enthusiasm either way.  
  
"Hungry?" Goten asked, offering him a capsule. He took it into his hands and studied it.  
  
"This isn't of edibility." He said, looking back at Goten, who facefaulted.   
  
"No, no, no!" he said, and took the capsule from Sirius' hands. "You have to decompress it first."  
  
Sirius watched as Goten compressed the top of the capsule and tossed a few feet away as a large cloud of smoke and vapor exploded into the air before them. Sirius was still hardly amused. When the smoke cleared there was a package of ramen noodles lying on the ground. Sirius moved to pick them up, when suddenly the lights dimmed and a red emergency light began to flash while an alarm sounded. The four warriors immediately jumped up and became very alert.  
  
"What the hell is going on?" Goten shouted over the siren. Sirius ran to the control panel and did a quick scan of their surrounding areas.  
  
"Oh, shit." He said.   
  
"What is it?" Reena cried.  
  
"It's the asteroid field! I completely forgot it was here." He said, clenching his fists. Reena produced a look of fear on her face.  
  
"Don't sweat it, we can just maneuver through." Trunks said, and approached the control panel.  
  
"I hope you're experienced with this thing." Sirius commented. "You haven't seen the asteroid field."  
  
"Relax. We have an asteroid belt too." Trunks said, and switched off the autopilot. Immediately, the pod lurched, and everyone, with the exception of Trunks, fell to the ground. He switched to manual controls and continued to feed power into the main generator. The ship careened through space, and Trunks switched on the visualization screen to monitor their surroundings. He could see the field as they drew nearer. When he saw how many rocks there were floating aimlessly through space, he began to get nervous.   
  
"Something wrong Trunks?" Goten asked. He was standing against the wall next to Reena, her hand in his.   
  
"I've got it under control." Trunks said through clenched teeth.   
  
He ran his fingers down the panel, desperately searching for the shield generator.  
  
"Damnit, where is the button!?" he cried. Goten murmured something to Reena before turning around and sprinting downstairs. She started to reach her hand out to stop him, but she forced herself not to. Trunks turned to her.  
  
"Reena where is he going?" Trunks asked.   
  
"He said something about a spacesuit. That's all I heard over the alarm." She explained. Trunks jerked his head in the direction that Goten had just exited.  
  
"That baka!" He cried. He knew he couldn't risk leaving the controls, but Goten had to be stopped.  
  
"What is he planning on doing?" Reena shouted over the blaring danger signal. Then, a bleeping noise from the control panel signaled that the airlock had been opened. Trunks looked at it for a few moments, frozen in disconcerted anger.  
  
"Sirius, take over the controls." Trunks barked, and then ran down the stairs. He literally jumped down to the lower level, accidentally walking in as Ceres was stepping out of the shower with an infuriated look on her face. She screamed and covered herself up with a towel, but Trunks just ignored her and ran to the airlock. Goten had suited up and gone out into space. Kami knows why he embarked on such a suicidal mission.   
  
Trunks ran back upstairs, passing a blushing Ceres, and skidded to a halt in front of the control panel where Sirius was standing. Trunks knew that there were microphones in all of the spacesuits, so he was going to activate Goten's and demand a legitimate reason for his actions. He pressed a sequence of buttons to pull up the main menu and activated Goten's mike. He then pressed the button to communicate through the port in the suit.   
  
"Goten! What in hell are you doing!?" Trunks cried. After a short pause, there was a reply.  
  
"Oh, hi Trunks." He said casually.  
  
"Goten..."   
  
"I'm just saving your ass, that's all."  
  
Through the slim windows that ran along the walls of the ship, an enormous wave of light was seen. Goten was trying to destroy the asteroids.   
  
Trunks was somewhat relieved, but he didn't like the idea. Still, there was no stopping the kid, now was there?   
  
He shuffled away from the controls, allowing Sirius to resume his position, and slumped onto the floor. Reena stared intently at him for a few seconds, and then walked over to the window, looking out ahead of them, as Goten fired blast after blast, pummeling the rocks and exploding them into a million pieces.   
  
"Have you known him long?" she asked, looking back at Trunks.   
  
"Well yeah...we grew up together." Trunks replied. "Why?"  
  
"He seems sweet." She replied. "But...I don't think..."  
  
"What? You don't think what?" Trunks asked. Sirius had left the room so it was just the two of them.  
  
"I don't think I should get so attached to him."  
  
Trunks looked at her as her lips quivered and she struggled to keep her emotions at bay.  
  
"Goten is a good kid, Reena. He wouldn't-"  
  
"That's not what I'm worried about. You know about Belsevi. I just don't think I should become attached to Goten, because, well...I'm still holding on to the past, that's all."   
  
"But, you can't hold on to the past. If you do, you are blinded and can't see what's right in front of you."   
  
Trunks said. Suddenly, the intercom blinked on and a voice was attempting to contact them. Reena snapped out of her daze and ran to the control panel. She could hear static and a faint voice, which was barely audible.   
  
"Trunks how do you work this thing?" she asked frantically. "I think...that the Vela-sei defense station is trying to contact us." Trunks stood up quickly and joined her.   
  
"You have to hold down this button to speak." Trunks said, showing her how to work the panel. "And then let go to receive. It's not too complicated." He joked. Reena obviously hadn't been paying attention to his attempts to lighten the mood and was trying to reach the station. After several attempts, Reena was ready to give up.  
  
"Damn piece of junk!" she cried, kicking the central column where all of the controls were. Trunks kept his distance...he knew the wrath of an angry female.  
  
This is the Vela defense station. State your position." The voice rang through, clear as crystal. Her kicking must have jarred it back to normal!  
  
Reena's face lit up and she pressed the speaking button.   
  
"This is Reena, I'm returning from New Vegeta-sei with Sirius, Ceres, and two Saiya-jins." She replied. Trunks looked at her in confusion.   
  
"Reena?" the voice replied. It was the gruff voice of a commander. "We weren't aware of your departure from the planet."  
  
"I know, it was a spur of the moment thing. Anyway, we are requesting landing permission at the Alpha-Sidra base." She replied.   
  
"You'll have to pass through the station first. It's a mandatory routine." The voice replied.   
  
"No problem." She replied. "Thanks." And with that, the transmission ended. Reena turned back to Trunks, her face alive with joy.  
  
"We made it!" 


	15. Chapter 15

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 15 - Vela  
  
  
The pod shot through the sky, moments away from the station. Everyone had now showered and dressed, and were going over the plans.   
  
"You two." Sirius said, looking and Trunks and Goten. "You will have to suppress your power levels considerably. There are no Saiya-jins on New Vegeta with power levels as high as yours, and if you reveal them, the authorities will become suspicious."  
  
"New Vegeta?" Trunks asked.  
  
"The original planet Vegeta has already been destroyed, remember? Some of the remaining Saiya-jins that survived the destruction while on operations of their own, grouped together and founded New Vegeta, where they multiplied. New Vegeta isn't nearly as large, and there is no monarchy any longer." He explained. "A few other races have interacted with the new Saiya-jins, producing hybrids. Trunks, you're going to be a hybrid. Goten you are too, even though you look like a full-blooded Saiya-jin, your ki doesn't have the attributes of one."   
  
Trunks and Goten stared long and hard at Sirius before Goten spoke up.  
  
"Tell me, is there ANYTHING you don't know?" he asked, bewildered at Sirius' knowledge of the world around him. Sirius was discomfited at the question and cleared his throat a few times.   
  
"How old are you?" Trunks inquired.   
  
"Counting the aging, I'm 14." He replied. Trunks almost fell over.  
  
"Fourteen!? Hell, you sure are smart for that age, not to mention huge."   
  
Reena laughed at him.  
  
"Trunks, Vela's years are longer than those of Earth. Sirius is the equivalent of 18 in Earth years." She explained.   
  
"Oh." He replied. "That makes sense."  
  
"One year on Vela is equal to 1.3 years in Earth. So our ages seem younger, but really aren't." Sirius interjected. Just as he finished, the ship was jerked and almost stopped completely.   
  
"What...?" Trunks said, looking out the slim windows, and seeing nothing but stars. Reena walked towards the door.  
  
"We have arrived at the defense station. They automatically stopped our engines and reduced out momentum...though, it was rather sudden." She explained. Trunks and Goten had already suppressed their ki's, and were aware of their "roles".   
  
The ship slowly pulled into the docking bay of the station. Trunks could now see the planet Vela from the windows. It looked much like Earth, with the exception that there were several more, smaller continents, and the water appeared to be a bluish purple color. There was also a ring of ice around it, similar to Saturn. The planet got closer and closer as they were pulled into the station. Soon, the planet was out of sight and they were completely inside the docking bay. The ship slowed to a steady halt and finally rested. The door to the bay closed and the large room was pressurized. After a few lengthy seconds, Trunks opened the automatic door and shut down the system's controls. There was a hissing sound as the door opened and decompressed. Clanking noises and voices filled the air. Reena, Ceres, and Sirius all hopped off and onto the cold, metal floor of the room. Goten followed quickly thereafter, leaving Trunks still on the ship.  
  
"Come on Trunks. What's wrong?" Goten said. "It's no big deal."   
  
Trunks hesitantly but surely, stepped out of the ship and onto the floor. Goten reached up and shut the door manually, but didn't lock it. Suddenly, there was a voice from behind them.  
  
"Ah, Reena, Ceres, Sirius. I see you have arrived."   
  
The five turned around to see a young man of about 25 standing before them. He was wearing a uniform and had a microphone attacked to his jacket. He was also wearing an earpiece. Trunks swore that he looked like an FBI agent in alien clothing.   
  
"These must be the two Saiya-jins you spoke of. They don't look like Saiya-jins." He man spoke.   
  
"Altair, these are hybrids from New Vegeta." Sirius explained.   
  
"You know, you three look a lot bigger than you were when I saw you last." Altair observed. Trunks gulped, but thankfully, not noticeably.   
  
"We trained on New Vegeta." Reena said. "So that explains the change."  
  
"I see. Well, what are you bringing these Saiya-jins to Vela-sei for?"   
  
Reena paused. There was an error in their plan.   
  
"Oh...we...met these Saiya-jins on New Vegeta and...well they...wanted to see the planet!" she stuttered. Trunks facefaulted.   
  
"Well...I guess I can let you five through. But there's no way you can take that big thing." Altair said, guesturing to the Capsule Corp. pod. "You can teleport to the spaceport on Vela."  
  
"Hai." Sirius said, nodding. Altair led the five of them through a series of cold, sterile hallways. They passed many other uniformed men and women, most of them wearing the microphone and earpiece like the one Altair wore. Finally, they reached a secure entrance. Altair typed some numbers into a control panel, placed his hand on a scanner, and looked through some kind of device, which scanned his eyes. After everything was complete, Altair pressed a final series of buttons. The large, metal door slid open from the bottom and the top, revealing one single room.   
  
As they walked through, Goten looked hardly impressed.   
  
"What's so special about this room, anyway?" he whispered to Reena. Altair, obviously having heard him, stopped and turned to the boy.  
  
"Interesting that you would ask that. This room is your only means of getting on that planet. We don't want just anyone walking in and teleporting to the surface." He explained. "So, this room is heavily guarded, especially lately, with tighter security and all."  
  
Goten was already embarrassed that he was heard, and now even more that the man acknowledged it in front of everyone.  
  
"Now, you will have to step onto this platform here. You will be teleported to the spaceport in the city of Orion."   
  
Trunks jumped.  
  
"There is a city named...Orion?" he asked, not sure that he heard correctly. Altair nodded slowly.   
  
"But Altair we were hoping to arrive in Sidra. Ceres, Sirius, and I have to meet with Carina." Reena said.   
  
Altair looked at them for a few seconds before clearing his throat and shifting his weight.  
  
"Let me explain something to you." He began, looking directly at Reena, though he would occasionally steal glances at the other four. "Security has been exceptionally tight during the past couple of days. Normally, we wouldn't allow anyone directly into the city. But, since you have close ties with the royal family, I'll make an exception."  
  
Reena's face brightened and she started to thank him.  
  
"I'm trusting your judgment. These Saiya-jins don't look like potential threats, so I'll trust you." He continued.  
  
"Thank you Altair." Sirius said, stepping forward. "But we really are in a hurry."  
  
"Ah, I see. Well step up here." Altair said, pointing to a large platform. The five senshi all did as they were told. "You three know this process. I assume the two Saiya-jins don't."   
  
Trunks and Goten looked at him in response.  
  
"You two ever teleport before?" he asked. Trunks replied.  
  
"Well actually, Goku-"  
  
"Of course not. I didn't think so." He interrupted. Reena facefaulted. "Just don't let it get to you. It's not as bad as it seems."  
  
"Yes, but-"  
  
"Just sit still, now. I'm almost finished setting this thing."  
  
Trunks produced a sweat drop and buried his face in his hands. Just as he looked up, a bright light enveloped the room and the last thing he saw was Altair smiling at them.  
  
When Trunks finally came to his senses, he realized that they were on the planet Vela. He was startled as he looked around. Though it was obvious that this world was one of great knowledge and technology, the general approach wasn't extroverted in that sense. They had arrived just outside a large complex, obviously the spaceport.   
  
"Trunks, I have to tell you something."  
  
Trunks turned to face Sirius, who has a look of deep concern on his face.   
  
"You realize the risk that we are already taking by coming here, am I correct?"  
  
"Yes." Trunks replied.  
  
"And you may not like some of the things you see."  
  
"I know."  
  
"But I have to tell you, under no circumstances are you to interfere with events that will take place. I don't care if Hermes tortures Carina to her death, you cannot save her." Sirius said in a grave tone. Trunks almost choked as he tried to speak.  
  
"You mean that...you would just sit back a...and watch?" he said, making sure he had heard correctly. Sirius nodded slowly.  
  
"Being a guardian, it is my instinct to protect her. But, my place to protect is not in this time anymore. Whatever happens here was meant to be, and we cannot obstruct that." He said, and looked towards the purplish blue sky. Trunks looked down at his feet. He was starting to regret coming here in the first place.  
  
"Sirius, we don't have long. We need to act quickly." Reena said. He nodded and started walking towards the city. Everyone instinctively followed.  
  
As they neared the city's core, Trunks was astounded by all that he saw. The architecture was very similar to that on Earth, incorporating round shapes into the designs. In the inner city, the dense buildings began to diminish and there were smaller complexes and individual buildings. Then, in the middle of it all, stood an enormous palace, Trunks guessed, where the royal family lived. A large wall surrounded the castle, with a few entrances, which were obviously heavily guarded. The castle itself probably housed more than just the King, Queen, and Princess, judging by the mass of it. Trunks scanned the ki's in the area, and noted that the general population was of average level, hovering around the ten thousands, but there was a high power coming from the castle itself.   
  
"Trunks are you coming?" Goten said, breaking his concentration. Trunks realized that he had stopped in the middle of the street as he gazed at the castle.   
  
"Oh, right. Gomen." He said, and quickly caught up with the rest of the group. After a few minutes, they had gotten so close to the castle that Trunks could see in detail the features of the structure. It was made entirely of white and soft grey materials, appearing to be stone, but could very well be some kind of foreign material. The castle was far from the typical image one would expect back on Earth. It was more rounded, had four tall columns in front, and there was no moat. Over the top of the structure, above where the columns fitted into the support arch, there was a symbol imprinted on the surface. Trunks then looked at the breastplate of Sirius' armor and realized that they were the same. Obviously, this was some sort of symbol that represented this place and the people here.   
  
Suddenly, Sirius stopped in his tracks and turned to Reena and Ceres.  
  
"You two, we can't just walk in looking like we do. Remember, our former selves are also behind those walls, and we can't have any contact with them. We have to camouflage ourselves enough so that we don't raise any suspicions, but we can't look like foreigners, or we will never get in." he explained. Reena nodded and reached up her ponytail, ripping the band from around her hair, and allowing the dark purple strands to fall to her shoulders. With her hair down, it was no easily longer than Natalie's was. Goten was trying not to stare as she ran her fingers through her hair to get the knots out and make it presentable. Reena then turned to Ceres.  
  
"Here." She said, handing the band to the girl. "You will need this."  
  
"I don't think I have enough hair to pull up." Ceres said, grabbing her locks and pulling them tightly to the back of her head. Needless to say, she had just enough hair to complete her task. The tiny bob of hair sat firm in place as she moved around, not like Reena's, which had bounced around freely, much like Natalie's did when her hair was up.   
  
"Sirius what about you?" Goten said, looking at the warrior.   
  
"I can't do anything about my appearance. Hopefully nobody will recognize me. But, we will have to travel into the castle in two groups. Trunks, you and Goten will come with me. Reena and Ceres, you go in the second entrance and we will rendezvous in the courtyard." He explained. "You cannot look suspicious, or you will be thrown out in an instant. That's how tight the security is around here."  
  
"Then how in hell did someone like Hesperos or Hermes get in and attack?" Trunks whispered harshly.  
  
"They have connections with the family." Sirius replied, also whispering. "In our present forms, we do not."  
  
"Damn. This is more complicated than I expected." Trunks cursed. "But wait...can't you use the little symbol on your armor to get in?"   
  
"No, all Sidra-jin armor has that symbol on it. It's nothing unique to us."   
  
All of the sudden, Sirius paused and looked to his left.   
  
"Kuso. Run." He said, grabbing Ceres' hand and bolting into a nearby alley. The rest followed. Trunks peered around the corner of the building to see a figure walking toward the gates of the palace. It almost looked like...  
  
"Orion." Sirius whispered. "I forgot about him."   
  
Trunks paled. What the hell was Orion doing here? 


	16. Chapter 16

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 16 - Déjà vu   
  
  
Trunks stared intently as Orion headed towards the wall.   
  
"They'll never let him in." Trunks reassured himself. Then, much to his disbelief, the guards offered a friendly nod as he passed through, unscathed. Trunks' jaw dropped.   
  
"Surely you haven't forgotten already!" Sirius hissed. "He is very closely tied with them."  
  
Trunks clenched his fists.  
  
"We have to get in." he said, and started walking towards the gate through which Orion had just entered. Sirius grabbed Trunks' wrist and pulled him back into the alley.  
  
"You can't make any contact with the people inside, Trunks! You could change history, even with one glance." Sirius argued. Trunks allowed his hands to drop to his sides.  
  
"Fine. But let's go." He said. They dispersed into their two groups and headed for the two different entrances.   
  
As Trunks, Sirius, and Goten approached, the guards at the entrance acknowledged them. The three naturally stopped in preparation for the impending interrogation.  
  
"Where do you three think you are going?" one of the guards asked. He was wearing the familiar armor, much like the kind Sirius had on, but more elaborate.   
  
"We are here to attend the board meeting." Sirius explained. "Concerning the affairs of the alliance."  
  
The guard looked at them suspiciously.  
  
"And who are these two?" one asked.  
  
"Ambassadors...from New Vegeta." Sirius replied quickly.  
  
"I was asking them, not you. Besides, they look a little young to be ambassadors." The guard replied cockily.   
  
"You can check their ID's, if you want proof." Sirius replied coolly. Trunks almost choked. They didn't have ID's! Sirius was bluffing! Oh Dende-sama...let this work.  
  
The two guards faced each other and turned their backs to the trio as they muttered a short conversation.   
  
"You may pass."   
  
Trunks, Goten, and Sirius quickly passed though to avoid being misconstrued by anybody else.  
  
  
Meanwhile, Reena and Ceres approached the west gate after making sure that the others had gotten though. Two male guards were standing at the gates, looking rather bored. When they caught site of the girls, they perked up.  
  
"May I help you two?" one said, clearing his throat. Ceres smiled seductively and inched closer. Reena rolled her eyes in disgust at Ceres' methods of manipulation.  
  
"We'd like to enter through this gate." Ceres said.   
  
"What makes you think you're qualified to do so?" the guard challenged. Ceres took on a defensive stance.  
  
"We have obligations we were asked not to reveal." She replied aggressively.   
  
"Oh really?" the guard challenged. "You think that your intentions are too covert to reveal to guards?"   
  
Ceres didn't reply.  
  
"Well this is our job. We can't let you in unless you have a legitimate reason."  
  
"How about this legitimate reason?" Ceres said. There was a few seconds of silence as the guards looked at her with a confused expression.   
  
"I don't see any-"  
  
The guard suddenly broke off as his face lost all emotions and his pupils dilated. Reena recoiled and the other guard got into a defensive position. Suddenly, he too lost all expression on his face and his pupils enlarged. After a few more seconds, they fell to the ground, unconscious. Reena looked at Ceres, who had a satisfactory smirk on her face.  
  
"What the hell did you just do to them!" she demanded.  
  
"Relax, Reena. They will be fine in a few minutes, and they won't remember a thing." Ceres said confidently, proceeding to walk through the gate. Reena checked the pulse of the guards before following cautiously through the palace walls.   
  
  
The five all met up in the garden, near the corner of the walls, and hid amongst the various plants, trees, flowers, and shrubs.   
  
"Where do we go from here!" a nervous Trunks hissed.   
  
"Just calm your nerves, nothing big is going down as of yet." Reena snapped back. Goten looked at her in shock. The group of five looked up at the enormous palace doors, which were hidden behind large marble columns, and sat in front of the substantial stone staircase.   
  
Trunks thought to himself. *It looks just like an ancient roman palace*  
  
As thy made their way to the doors, a group of what appeared to be soldiers of rank exited the palace. Trunks' breath caught in his throat as he noted the young men that passed by. Included in the group of 7 or 8 were Sirius' younger self, and Orion. Sirius immediately stepped into the shadows cast by one of the far walls to avoid making contact with...himself, and the others tried to act casual as the men passed by them, just 20 feet from where they were standing. Most paid them no attention, or didn't give them a second look as they were hustled out the doors and through the gates where the guards of the west gate where starting to get a grip on reality. After the coast was clear, the five relaxed, and Sirius came out of hiding. Trunks could hear his heart beating wildly in his chest.   
  
"That was way too close." Goten said, taking a deep breath.   
  
"It shouldn't be this bad from this point on. In fact, we got a break, because two of our biggest threats, Orion and Sirius, have already left." Reena explained. They all entered warily through the doors, and into the grand foyer. Trunks and Goten had to be pushed through the doors after seeing the interior; they were frozen in shock.   
  
"We need to set up some sort of base." Sirius said. "We still have a day, after all."  
  
"How long is a day on Vela?" Goten asked.   
  
"Almost the same as Earth, maybe an hour or so shorter."   
  
"Well where are we heading right now?"   
  
"The east wing."  
  
"Where Nat lives?"  
  
"Precisely."  
  
They all walked down the tall, sleek corridors, their boots clanking and echoing off of the marble floors.  
  
"This place is decked out." Trunks commented. "Nat is so laid back, I can't imagine her living some place like this."   
  
They suddenly heard voices from unseen rooms ahead, and they seemed to grow closer. Sirius grabbed the two girls and dodged behind a wall, leaving Trunks and Goten, who immediately followed. They hushed their breaths as two figures passed by. One was a female about Trunks' height, with long, gold, cascading hair, which caught the light as she walked. Her blue eyes sparkled as she spoke.   
  
"The queen." Sirius whispered softly. Trunks looked again. He could see Natalie in her. There was another woman with her, who was about the same height, maybe a few inches taller, with dark blue hair and light blue eyes. Trunks could hear Reena shifting behind him. As soon as the figures passed, they all relaxed a bit, and stepped slowly into the hallway once more. Reena hesitated, and then followed. She looked disengaged.  
  
"What's wrong?" Goten asked, taking her hand in his. Trunks tried not to smile obnoxiously. Goten had a crush...  
  
"That was her mother." Ceres whispered in Trunks' ear. Trunks looked up at Reena, who still had the distraught expression on her face. Goten slipped his arm around her shoulder, underneath the masses of dark purple hair that tumbled down her back. He turned back to the hallway, and began to walk.  
  
"Where are you going?" Sirius asked, moving to stop him. Trunks didn't bother turning back to the group.  
  
"I can feel her ki." He said, his voice in a trance-like tone, as he continued to walk towards the end of the hallway.  
  
"Trunks no, someone will see you!" Sirius hissed, and grabbed Trunks' arm. Trunks turned to him, his eyes filled with torment and anguish. Sirius stepped back.  
  
"I want to see her." He said, his voice full of sorrow.  
  
"No, Trunks. Not now. Besides, you'll see her...before we leave." Sirius said. "I promise."   
  
Trunks clenched his fists, causing his nails to dig into his palms, and dropped his hands to his sides. Goten, Reena, and Ceres joined Sirius.   
  
"Stop looking at me like that!" Trunks shouted. Sirius slapped his hand over Trunks' mouth.  
  
"I said stop, you're making a scene. If anyone finds out what we're doing, they'll have us removed!" Sirius said. "Not to mention the fact that they will tighten security again, making it that much harder to get back in."   
  
Trunks had to force himself to comply...he told himself it was the best thing to do if they wanted to save Natalie, and the fate of their world. He cursed to himself. Why was everyone so interested in her anyway! Why can't they just leave her alone!  
  
"He's not interested in her like Orion is...or was." Sirius said, as if he read his mind. Trunks turned and looked at Sirius.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Hermes doesn't even care for her. The only reason he wants her is because of his own greed...and his greed is satisfied with power, which he can easily tap into using her." He replied. "She is merely a pawn in his game."  
  
To Trunks, this almost sounded worse. At least Orion had made sure she remained safe...for the most part. But he was still angry, because, of all people, Hermes chose her.   
  
Trunks was snapped back to reality when Sirius dragged him around the same corner again.  
  
"Sirius I'm sick of your-"  
  
"Shut up!"   
  
Trunks stopped talking just in time to see Orion walking down that hallway, heading in the same direction that they had been. Trunks' breath caught in his throat and he forced himself to remain calm. He couldn't let Orion let him know that he was there. Just when Trunks thought he was in the green, Orion suddenly stopped, and looked around.  
  
*Shit, he found us* Trunks thought to himself as he started to break out in a nervous sweat. Finally, after what seemed an eternity of suspense, Orion turned back and continued walking. As soon as he was out of sight, Trunks sighed heavily and shakily. After a few more moments of suspended silence, Reena spoke up.  
  
"I'm sick of this stupid hiding." She said, somewhat annoyed. "At this rate, we MIGHT get to the end of the hallway before next week."  
  
Everyone stared at her. She then proceeded to walk into the hallway indiscreetly, and started walking. Sirius, again, moved to put her to a stop, but Ceres grabbed his wrist and looked at him as if to say "no you don't". Trunks and Goten immediately followed, then Ceres, and Sirius trailing behind, still proceeding with caution and making sure to watch for approaching figures.  
  
As they neared the end of the hall, where it made a sharp turn to the left, two people suddenly walked around the corner, taking the group of five by complete surprise. Trunks stopped in his tracks when he recognized them, but Goten pushed him to keep him moving, trying to avoid suspicion.   
  
"Hey...who were those people back there?" the girl asked as she passed the five, looking back and stealing one more glance while she continued to walk in the opposite direction.  
  
"Who them?" the other said, also turning for a moment. "I'm sure they are just here for some meeting. Don't worry about them, Carina."  
  
"Orion quit being so stupid, we could at least introduce ourselves." She whispered harshly.   
  
"No, we'll meet up with them later. Come on, we'll be late." Orion said, and slipped his hand into hers as they continued walking. As they were about to turn the corner, Carina stole one more glance at Trunks before she was pulled around the side, and out of sight. 


	17. Chapter 17

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 17 - Close Call  
  
  
Trunks felt like he was about to snap. The others obviously felt the increase in his ki and Goten went over to calm him down.  
  
"Trunks get a hold of yourself!" he said, shoving Trunks. "You can't do anything about Orion and Nat...but you can do something about bringing her back, and if you don't stop being so careless, you're going to run it!"   
  
Everyone stared at Goten in utter disbelief.   
  
Trunks, angered, grabbed Goten's neck and tried to strangle him. Reena, who had been standing behind Sirius, suddenly ran out in front of him.  
  
"Trunks stop!" she pleaded. "You can't lose control...we've worked so hard for this."   
  
Trunks dropped Goten and looked down at the floor. Goten and Reena followed his stares and they all three locked eyes on the same thing. Trunks' time shift shield was lying on the floor. He was now subject to the mercy of the distorted timeline, and being from the future, he was affected. Trunks slowly picked it up and placed it over his temple again, and after a few seconds, he blinked and looked at Goten.  
  
"Oh...gomen." Trunks said, rubbing his hands together. "I kinda...couldn't control it."  
  
"Control...what?" a voice said from behind them. Trunks, Goten, and Reena turned around to see Orion standing about ten feet away from them, with Carina a couple of feet behind him.   
  
"Nani? Is there a problem?" Sirius spoke up, taking a few steps forward so that e was even with Trunks.   
  
"That's what I want to know. Just as we passed this corner, one of the ki's rose drastically. That's not exactly...normal, is it?" Orion asked, eyeing all of them.   
  
Trunks growled low in his throat. Even though they were in the past and now, Orion was still built slightly bigger than he was, and he looked a hell of a lot more intimidating when angry.   
  
"Gomen nasai Orion-sama." Sirius replied.   
  
"Who are you, and what are you doing in the east wing?" Orion questioned. Carina stepped up next to Orion. She was wearing a long dress, with twin straps and a dip at the hips. She had jewels on her forehead, Trunks noted, which made her look quite elegant. A black choker was around her neck, with a garnet stone in the center.  
  
"Orion they're not potential threats, just leave them alone." She whispered.   
  
"Carina if you are too careless, you'll end up the victim of a terrorist attack." Orion whispered harshly. Trunks noted the irony of the whole situation, since, she would be anyway, no matter how much Orion tried to...protect her.   
  
"Are you new recruits for the army?" Carina asked them.   
  
"No. These two are ambassadors from New Vegeta, and the three of us are from Hespera, here to attend the meeting of the alliance." Sirius replied, in a calm, cool tone.   
  
"New Vegeta..." Carina spoke softly. "Orion I told you they were Saiya-jins. I could tell by their ki's."  
  
Orion just kept his eyes locked on the five.   
  
"I don't care what they are, they shouldn't be in the east wing." He said, and then addressed Trunks. "So, Saiya-jin, do you have orders from the king or queen?" he asked.   
  
Trunks' heart skipped a beat. He didn't know how to answer that. If he said yes, they would be asked to show proof, which they didn't have. If he said no, it would raise further suspicion.  
  
"We must have gone down the wrong corridor. Gomen." He said. Orion raised a brow, and then turned to Carina.  
  
"Let's go." He said, and walked back down the hall. Carina, however, didn't move.  
  
"Iie, Orion. I want to meet the Saiya-jins." She replied, and then turned back to Trunks, extending her hand.  
  
"What's your name, Saiya-jin?" Carina asked curiously.   
  
"Kakarotto." He replied. He couldn't tell her his real name, or it would cause complications in the future.   
  
"I'm Carina." She replied, shaking Trunks' hand, and then looked at Goten.  
  
"And you?"  
  
"Goten." He replied.  
  
"That doesn't sound like a Saiya-jin name." She replied. "Are you pure or hybrid?"   
  
"Hybrid." He replied nervously.   
  
"Hmmm..." Carina said, and looked down at the floor. "I've never been to new Vegeta. What is it like?" she asked, looking back up at Trunks. Before he could answer, Orion came back around the corner.  
  
"Carina what are you doing?" he asked. Carina turned to Orion and frowned.  
  
"I was being DIPLOMATIC, Orion." She said. "Just because I'm a princess doesn't mean I have to be stuck up."  
  
Trunks sweat dropped. This was the Natalie he knew. Her Saiya-jin side was showing. Orion smirked, and began to laugh as another person came around the corner. He was tall, had a muscular build, and had spiky black hair. He looked a lot like Vegeta, but with shorter hair and a more relaxed face. Behind him, the same woman from earlier, the queen, walked up. Trunks was about to wet his spandex. They were going to be caught for sure.   
  
The black-haired man walked up next to Carina and looked at the five.   
  
"Tousan, these people are here to attend the meeting." She spoke to him. "I was just introducing myself to them, and they are very friendly."   
  
The man looked down at Carina and then back at Trunks and the group.   
  
"In the east wing?" he said. "The conference room is in the main hall, when you first walk in the front doors."  
  
Trunks knew that they were in for it now. The king of planet Vela had caught them.   
  
"You must be new around here then." He continued. "It's nothing new, this place is rather large."  
  
"H...hai." Trunks stammered.   
  
"Don't be nervous, young Saiya-jin, we're not going to persecute you." He explained, laughing slightly. "To get back to the main hallway from here, just go down that hallway," he said, pointing to the hall where Orion and Carina had just come from, "take your second right, follow that hall until it dead-ends, and then turn left. You'll run right into it."  
  
Trunks nodded, though his face was still covered in confusion.  
  
"Tousan, Orion and I can take them." Carina offered.   
  
"No, you and Orion can finish whatever business you have to take car of. I'm sure they'll find it on their own."   
  
"Aries..." the queen spoke, taking a step forward. "Just let them do it. We're late for the convention anyway." She said, and gestured for him to follow her as she turned the corner again, the sound of her shoes echoing off of the walls. Aries just nodded to the Saiya-jins, turned, and walked away.   
  
"Carina, stop acting so childish and let the Saiya-jins find their own way back." Orion said. When Carina didn't reply, he stepped up and grabbed her wrist, literally dragging her away.   
  
"Orion stop embarrassing me!" she shouted at him from around the corner.   
  
"We're busy...remember?" Orion replied, accentuating the last word.   
  
"NO! We're not. I have an idea." She said.   
  
Since Trunks and the others couldn't see them, only hear their voices, they figured that Orion's silence was compensated with his facial expression.   
  
"If they are going to stay until tomorrow, we should ask them to come to the council party." She said. "Don't you think that would be a good idea?"  
  
Orion sighed angrily.   
  
"Come on, it will be fun. Besides, it is probably their first time on Vela, and we want to make a good impression, ne?" Carina continued. After a few more minutes of mumbled conversation, Carina and Orion came back around the corner.  
  
"How long are you five staying for?" she asked, folding her arms behind her back and smiling.   
  
"Um....a day. Just one day." Trunks said. "Why?"  
  
"Do you want to go to a party tonight?" she inquired.  
  
"S...sure." Trunks said. "What time?"   
  
"Be in the conference room at 2200 hours." She answered, and then walked away. Trunks watched her as she walked, and noted the slight swing in her hips. He then looked up and saw Orion raise an eyebrow and glare at him before turning and following her.  
  
A few minutes of silence passed before Trunks turned around, his face bright red.   
  
"I am such a baka. Now what are we going to do!" he said, slapping himself on the side of the face.  
  
"We'll go." Sirius replied. "Besides, everyone will be so tired afterward that they shouldn't notice us slipping back into the east wing."   
  
"Hey, you have a point." Goten said. "But...what are we going to wear?"  
  
Everyone turned to Goten. They hadn't even considered that important detail.  
  
"No problem." Ceres said. "We can go get some clothes. I know plenty of places."  
  
"How do you think we're going to pay for them?" Reena asked, her face hinting at her annoyance with the situation.   
  
"I have ways." Ceres smirked.   
  
"Oh no you don't, Ceres." Reena said. "You're not using your mind manipulation techniques this time!"  
  
"What else do you suggest!" Ceres hissed. Trunks stepped in between them.   
  
"Would you two can it!?" he cried. "Just let Ceres use her idea...this planet is going to be gone in a day anyway! I doubt that the store would be fretting over a short inventory!"  
  
Reena and Ceres immediately shut up.   
  
"Gomen." Reena said. Ceres nodded.   
  
"Now we just have to get back out. I hope you know your way around." Trunks said, side-glancing at Sirius.  
  
Sirius didn't say a word, he just began to walk down the hall. Everyone followed him as they made their way out of the large building.   
  
  
  
"Orion, stop looking at me like that." Carina said, folding her arms. "I was only doing something nice."  
  
"That's not the point." He said angrily. "Don't you find it a little weird that five complete strangers were in the east wing, heading towards the living quarters?"   
  
"No, I don't." Carina replied. "Now will you lay off? You're not only acting really paranoid, but you're embarrassing me!"  
  
Orion clenched his teeth and hissed.   
  
"Carina you're the naïve fool who lets just anyone walk into your living quarters! Then you go and invite them to a party!"   
  
Carina sighed and backed up against the wall, sliding to the ground.   
  
"Orion I don't want to argue. Are you going to the party tonight?" she asked, looking up at him.   
  
Orion smiled malevolently.  
  
"Of course." 


	18. Chapter 18

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 18 - Preparation  
  
  
Trunks, Sirius, Goten, and Reena all followed Ceres. They walked out of the palace without stirring up any commotion, and headed into the city. Trunks and Goten were so busy looking around that they almost ran into a group of people.   
  
"Watch where you're going, Saiya-jin!" one person called. Trunks turned to Goten.  
  
"How do they know we're Saiya-jins?" he asked.   
  
"Trunks don't you remember?" Reena said. "We already explained to you about the ki signatures. Besides, Saiya-jins look generally different than we do. It's all subtle."   
  
Goten sweat dropped and placed his hand behind his head.  
  
"I'm getting hungry." He said. "Is there anywhere to eat around here?"  
  
Trunks slapped himself.  
  
"That's just like you Goten, always thinking with your stomach first." He said. "Hey Sirius any food nearby?"  
  
Sirius turned around and looked at them.  
  
"Sure there is." He said. "But we don't have any money."  
  
"Aw man didn't you guys come prepared at all?" Goten complained.  
  
"Well Saiya-jin let's see your money." Sirius said. Goten just stood, unable to speak. "That's what I thought."  
  
They continued to walk down the sidewalk, admiring the cityscape and the bustling activity that surrounded them.  
  
  
Inside the palace, Carina was in her room, pacing the floor. There was a young girl sitting on her bed, with long purple hair and blue eyes.  
  
"Reena, who are you going with tonight?" she asked.   
  
Reena just looked at the floor.  
  
"I'm not really sure..." she said. "I guess I'll find someone. You're going with Orion, right?"  
  
"As if there were any doubt." Carina said, sighing. Her face suddenly brightened up. "Hey guess what?"  
  
Reena looked up at Carina questionably.  
  
"I invited two Saiya-jins to come tonight. There were three others, Sidra-jins, and I didn't catch their names." She explained. "Maybe you can go with one of them."  
  
"I doubt it." Reena said.   
  
"Well there were three guys and two girls, so one of them is bound to be free." Carina said. "I mean it Reena I hate seeing you upset. But, I understand why."   
  
"Hai..." Reena said, a tear slipping down her cheek. Carina sat down next to Reena and leaned against her.  
  
"Hey Reena...I know you're sad. But you're not the type to wallow in sorrow. I know you can make it." She said, smiling. "He wouldn't want you to be upset like this."  
  
Reena just sighed.   
  
"I know, you're right, but it still hurts." She said.   
  
There was a knock on the door.  
  
"Come in." Carina said. Reena wiped away her tears quickly.  
  
"Am I interrupting anything?" Aries said as he walked in. Carina and Reena shook their heads simultaneously.   
  
"No, we were just talking about...the party. Right Reena?" Carina said, elbowing Reena slightly.  
  
"Right." Reena replied.   
  
"I came to tell you that you probably want to start getting ready, we have about 2 hours until it starts, and you can't be late for your own party, right?" he said, smiling.  
  
"It's your party, tousan, not mine." Carina said. "I'm only going because I have to."  
  
"Why do you say that? I thought you liked these sorts of things." Aries said, shifting his weight and folding his arms.  
  
"I do..." Carina said. "It's just that, I don't know...being who I am, I feel like I have to act proper, which means I can't enjoy myself."   
  
"No, no, no." Aries said. "You act however you want to."  
  
Carina sighed and folded her arms.   
  
"Easy for you to say, tousan." She said, and looked at Reena. "Reena, how about you go get your things and bring them back here so we can get ready for tonight, ok?"  
  
Reena nodded and got up, exiting the room quietly.  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Aries asked.  
  
"She's upset." Carina replied. "Because she doesn't have a date for tonight."  
  
"Well that's not so bad, a lot of people-"  
  
"That's not what I meant tousan." Carina said firmly, and then changed her tone to a whisper. "She misses you-know-who."  
  
"Oh Belsevi." Aries said. Carina slapped her hands over her father's mouth.   
  
"Tousan quiet. If she hears that name she'll get even more upset." She said harshly, and removed her hands.  
  
"Gomen." Aries said, and walked towards the door. "Well I have to go set up with your mother. I'll be back later to get you, ok?"  
  
"Hai." Carina replied as her father walked out the door.   
  
Carina sighed and fell back onto her bed. A few minutes later, Reena appeared in her doorway, holding a dress. Carina got up and shot the door behind Reena.  
  
"Wow that looks really pretty!" she exclaimed. "Those Saiya-jins won't be able to take their eyes off of you."   
  
Reena blushed.  
  
"Where's yours?" she asked.   
  
"Oh, it's hanging up in there." Carina replied, pointing to her closet. "Well put yours on, I want to see what it looks like!"   
  
"Ok." Reena said, and started changing. Carina walked over to her mirror and tossed her hair around.   
  
"I still think you should go with a Saiya-jin." Carina said, giggling. "They were really cute, especially the one with lavender hair."  
  
"Must be a hybrid." Reena said, still slipping into her dress.  
  
"I think they both are. His name is Kakarotto, and the other...Goten I think."   
  
"I'll think about it." Reena said. "You're lucky, you never have this problem."  
  
Carina rolled her eyes.  
  
"Reena, please. It would be nice to have a little variety now and then. I don't get that."  
  
"I wonder when he's going to ask you." Reena said.  
  
"What do you mean..." Carina said in a suspicious tone, raising her eyebrow.  
  
"Come on. Like it's not already obvious?" Reena said. "You two were obviously meant for each other."  
  
"You mean Orion?" Carina said. "Oh I don't know. I think people only think that because we're together all the time."  
  
"Exactly." Reena said. "And it's only a matter of time before he asks you to be his bride."  
  
Carina crossed her eyes.  
  
"Give me a break."   
  
"You know it's true."   
  
"It is not!"   
  
"Is so." Reena said, and then walked over to Carina. "I'm done."  
  
Carina turned around and looked at her friend.  
  
Reena's dress was black with royal purple trim. The neck was a choker-styled band, which extended down her collarbone and connected to the sleeveless top. The long black skirt covered her feet and fell daintily onto the floor.  
  
"Wow Reena that looks so great!" she said.   
  
"Thanks." Reena said meekly.  
  
"Don't be so modest." Carina joked. "Those Saiya-jins are going to drool when you walk in."  
  
"Not when they see you."   
  
"Reena quit being so hard on yourself. Besides, I don't think they would want to get near me with Orion around." She giggled.  
  
Reena laughed too.  
  
"Yeah I guess you're right. So let's see your dress."   
  
"Oh I almost forgot." Carina said, and laughed again. She walked over to her closet and pulled out a long, garnet-colored dress. Reena couldn't tell exactly what it looked like, since Carina folded it over her arms.   
  
"That's a nice color." Reena said. "It goes well with your hair."  
  
"We'll see." She said, and started to change out of the dress she already had on. As she did, there was another knock at the door.  
  
"We're busy." Carina answered, fiddling with her strap.   
  
"It's me." Came a voice from behind the door.   
  
"Ceres?" Carina said.  
  
"Yeah, it's me."   
  
"Oh. Well come in, but I'm changing, so don't leave the door open."   
  
The handle on the door turned and Ceres walked in. Right as she entered, Orion walked down the hall and passed the door, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"CERES SHUT THE DOOR!" Carina cried. Ceres laughed and slammed the door shut. Orion just smirked and continued down the hall.  
  
"Gomen Carina." Ceres said. Carina, whose face matched her dress, just nodded.  
  
"I know, I know. It was a mistake." She said. "It's no big deal anyway."  
  
"Yeah, he'd better get used to it, because he'll be seeing the same thing pretty soon." Reena added in, throwing a pillow at Carina.  
  
"WHAT!" she cried. "Reena!!"   
  
Ceres and Reena laughed, as Carina's face grew brighter.   
  
"It's not funny bakas!" she said. After a few seconds of holding an angry face, she burst into laughter. "Okay...okay, so it is."  
  
"Ceres who are you going with?" Reena asked as Carina calmed down.   
  
"Cronus." She replied. Reena got a dreamy look in her eyes.  
  
"He's cute, Ceres, what a catch." She said. Carina laughed.   
  
"Oh, oh. Ceres have you seen the Saiya-jins?" she asked. Ceres shook her head.  
  
"What Saiya-jins?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, they're so cute. I'm trying to convince Reena to go with one of them." Carina explained. "I met them just in the front of the east wing, and they were with three Sidra-jins. I'm telling you they were so cute, and sweet too."  
  
"Really? Are they coming to the party?"  
  
Carina nodded.  
  
"Yep! I invited them." She said, and then added. "But I don't think Orion liked it...too bad!"  
  
The three of them laughed together.   
  
"Um, Carina?"   
  
"Yeah Reena?"  
  
"Maybe you should finish changing."  
  
"Oh...that would be a good idea."  
  
"You were just waiting for Orion to walk by again, weren't you?"  
  
"I was NOT!"  
  
"Don't worry...all the important parts are covered up."  
  
"Ceres...don't get involved."  
  
  
  
"Hey Trunks what do you think about this one?" Goten asked, holding up a dark grey tux.   
  
"Yeah, I think it matches my hair." Trunks replied, studying it.  
  
"Not for you!" Goten cried.  
  
"Goten I think you need to stick to solid black."   
  
Reena came up behind them, holding up a white tuxedo.  
  
"I think this looks better, Goten." She said, smiling. Goten blushed slightly and placed his hand behind his head.  
  
"I'll go try it on Reena!" he said, and ran to one of the dressing rooms.  
  
"Reena, look at this!" Ceres called from across the store. Reena turned her head and saw Ceres holding up a green, strappy dress. Reena walked over to where Ceres was standing and they began to discuss silently.  
  
"Any luck?" Sirius asked, stepping over to where Trunks was.   
  
"Not really." Trunks explained. "But the dark grey one Goten held up looked good. What about you?"  
  
"I've got one." Sirius replied. "It's just plain black, nothing special."  
  
"Black is classic, you can't go wrong with it." Trunks said, and paused. "Man I can't believe I said that...I sound just like my kaasan." Sirius snorted.   
  
"Hey Trunks, how does it look?"   
  
Trunks turned around and saw Goten in the white tux. He had a nervous look on his face.  
  
"Yeah it looks fine, why?"  
  
Goten's face brightened.  
  
"Cool, where's Reena?" he asked, looking around for her. Trunks snickered. How typical.   
  
After everyone had picked out their clothes, they approached the counter.   
  
"Ready?" the cashier asked.   
  
Ceres started to speak, but Sirius interrupted her.  
  
"Yeah, we're ready." He said, and slapped something onto the counter, which Trunks guessed was the Sidra-jin currency.   
  
Everyone looked at Sirius in surprise as the cashier rang up the total.   
  
  
After they left, Ceres was the first to speak.  
  
"Sirius where on Vela did you get that money?" she asked.  
  
"A source." He replied shadily.   
  
"How come you wouldn't let us buy food then!" Goten complained.  
  
"Because I know the appetite of a Saiya-jin, and I didn't feel like wasting half of the money before we even got to buy our clothes." Sirius replied.   
  
"Well can we get food now?"   
  
"No, there will be plenty to eat tonight. I'm sure you won't die of starvation before then."   
  
The group all headed back to the castle, where they hoped to get in as easily as before.   
  
"Wait, I have an idea." Reena said. Everyone looked at her, awaiting her explanation.  
  
"We should change into our clothes first, and then go to the castle. They'll just assume that we're anonymous council members going to attend the party." She explained.   
  
"Hey good idea, Reena. I'm surprised you thought of it." Ceres joked.   
  
"Ha ha, Ceres, very funny." Reena said, incensed and hardly amused.   
  
"Come on you two let's go. We have less than an hour." Sirius said, and took lead once again. 


	19. Chapter 19

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Note: Before you read this, I just want to clarify something. A few chapters back I stated that the Vela years are longer than those of Earth, hence, the ages of the Sidra-jins seem abnormally low. But if you do the math, it makes sense. Also be aware that Sidra-jin females marry young, around the age of 10 or 11 (13-14 in Earth years). Get it? Got it? Good.  
  
Chapter 19 - Let the Celebration Begin   
  
  
Carina paced the floor nervously. She was finally changed into her dress, which Reena and Ceres had complimented her on.   
  
"What's wrong, Carina?" Reena asked?  
  
"Maybe she's worried about birth control." Ceres snickered. Carina glared at Ceres.  
  
"It got old really fast." She said.   
  
"Whoa, Carina...it was a joke." Reena said. "You must be really stressed out. What is it?"  
  
"NOTHING!" Carina snapped. "Oh...I'm sorry. I'm really worried."  
  
"About what?" Ceres asked.  
  
"About looking right and acting properly and being nice and diplomatic and helpful but not extroverted." She said, taking a deep breath.   
  
"Carina slow down. You don't have to act anything." Reena said. "Just go as you are. You look great, you mood is...er...well, was lively. There's nothing to worry about."  
  
"Okay, but promise me something." Carina said, stopping in her tracks.   
  
"What is it?" They both asked.  
  
"NO inappropriate jokes tonight." She said. "And you know what I mean. It doesn't bother me, but there are going to be some really...really important people there."  
  
"Hai, Carina-sama. We won't." Reena said, and elbowed Ceres sharply in the ribs.  
  
"Ow, Reena." Ceres complained, and then saw the look on Carina's face. "Oh, ok no jokes tonight, I promise."  
  
Carina smiled and loosened up.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, causing Carina to jump halfway across the room.   
  
"Carina, just calm your nerves...you're too jumpy." Reena whispered. The door slowly opened and a figure stepped into the room.  
  
"Kaasan." Carina said, straightening her hair.  
  
"Carina what's the matter? You're trembling." Melina spoke, looking at her daughter with concern.   
  
"I'm fine. I just need to calm down..." she replied.  
  
"Well I came to tell you three that the party is starting in a couple of minutes, so you might want to come." She said, smiling, and looking around the room. "You girls look wonderful. You'll probably be turning quite a few heads this evening."  
  
"Please...kaasan...don't remind me." Carina said.  
  
"What do you mean?" Melina asked.   
  
"Melina-sama, she's nervous. She's afraid she's going to mess up." Reena informed the queen.   
  
"Little Carina...you have nothing to worry about." She said. She started to speak again but Aries passed by and walked in.  
  
"Melina, we have to get going." He said hurriedly. Melina smiled one last time at her daughter before departing.   
  
"I don't feel so well...why don't you guys go on ahead and I'll catch up in a few minutes?" Carina said, holding her stomach.   
  
Reena and Ceres looked at each other.  
  
"No, we'll wait." Reena replied. "Who are friends to desert one another, ne?"  
  
Carina smiled.   
  
"Thanks guys." She said, and stood up straight, patting her stomach and stretching her arms. "I'll be fine."   
  
As they walked down the main hall of the east wing, their shoes clattering on the marble floors, someone approached the three of them.  
  
"Ceres." He spoke.  
  
"Cronus!" she said, and walked over to him.  
  
"You look beautiful." He said, smiling, and taking her arm in his. Ceres looked back at Reena and Carina, smiling, and walked on ahead.  
  
"Look at his body." Reena whispered into Carina's ears. "You can tell he's one of the elite Sidra-jin soldiers. She's so lucky."   
  
Carina giggled lightly.   
  
"Reena, trust me. You will find your prince charming." She said.   
  
"I already had." Reena said sadly. Carina stopped walking and placed her hands on Reena's shoulders.  
  
"Reena listen to me." She whispered harshly. "You are going to have fun tonight, I don't care what it takes. Now please open up your mind and forget about what happened...just for a few hours."  
  
Reena looked at her friend for a few seconds before nodding her head.   
  
"Good. Now come on, let's knock 'em dead, shall we?" she said, as they linked arms.   
  
"Let's." Reena replied, and they headed towards the conference hall.   
  
  
Trunks was the first into the room, followed by Goten, and then the three Sidra-jins. He walked around casually and observed the scenery.   
  
There were about 2 dozen round tables, obviously for couples and groups of people, placed throughout the enormous room. There were also long tables, filled with food and drinks, set up against the wall. There were already many people attending, all of the men in tuxedos and formalwear, and the women were in beautiful, extravagant gowns. There was music and laughter filling the room.   
  
"Hey Trunks, lost in the sheer excitement of it all?" Goten said sarcastically.   
  
Trunks rolled his eyes at his friend.  
  
"No, I was just making a note of something." He replied.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"The fact that Earth and Vela are a lot alike."  
  
"I know."  
  
"But here, the sky is purple, and not blue." Trunks said, laughing. They entered more into the room, until they were near the middle. Suddenly, the moment Trunks had long since dreaded, Goten spied the food.  
  
"Oh my Kami...look at all that...food." He said, drooling.   
  
"Goten no!" Trunks said. "Don't embarrass us...please."  
  
It was too late. Goten was already at the table, filling a place with enormous quantities of food, before Trunks could blink.   
  
  
Carina and Reena finally made it to the conference hall, and approached the room where the party was being held.  
  
"Ready?" Reena asked. Carina nodded in determination.   
  
"Ready." She replied.   
  
The two girls stepped into the room, the lights bouncing off of their gowns and hair, causing them to shimmer. Before Carina could introduce herself to a group of people standing nearby, Reena yanked on Carina's wrist.  
  
"Carina look." She said, pointing. "That guy over there is making a total pig of himself."  
  
Carina looked in the direction of Reena's finger.  
  
"Oh! That's one of the Saiya-jins!" she exclaimed. "Come on!"  
  
Carina made her way across the room, Reena following close behind, and headed towards Goten.  
  
"Hi...Goten, isn't it?" she asked. Goten looked up and almost fell over from shock.  
  
"Nat...er...Carina!" he said.   
  
"This is my friend, Reena." Carina said, pulling a nervous Reena forward. Goten did a double take and backed up a few steps.  
  
"Oh...it was...nice to meet you...Ree...na..." he said. "But I um...really have to get going." He said, clearing his throat, and leaving very swiftly.  
  
"Right..." Carina said, following his disappearing form with her eyes.  
  
"Oh great!" Reena said, obviously distressed. "He doesn't even know me and he already hates me!"  
  
"Actually Reena, I think he likes you. Why do you think he got so nervous all of the sudden?" Carina noted.  
  
"I'm not stupid Carina, you're just trying to make me feel better." Reena cried, and then stormed off. Carina started to follow, but the gap closed.   
  
"DAMNIT!" She thought to herself. "Where is that Goten kid? I'm going to find him."   
  
She started to head in the direction that Goten had just walked, but someone grabbed her wrist. Half-expecting it to be Reena, she spun around in surprise.  
  
"There you are."   
  
"Orion? What are you doing here?" Carina asked confusedly.  
  
"What do you mean, I've been here." He said.   
  
"Oh...right. Stupid me, I can't think straight." She said. "Help me find someone."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Goten. Remember...one of the Saiya-jins from earlier today?" she said.   
  
"What do you need to find him for?"  
  
"Just trust me on this one." Carina said, and started to walk away, but Orion held onto her wrist.  
  
"Don't waste your time, I'm sure he's halfway across the room by now and it will be nearly impossible to find him." He said. Carina started to struggle but just gave up and sighed.  
  
"Whatever." She said, her voice hinting at agitation.   
  
"What's the matter now?" he asked, smirking and raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Nothing, and don't look at me like that." She said, growing more and more irritated by the second.   
  
"What's gotten into you tonight?" he asked, his eyebrow still raised.  
  
"Nothing has gotten into me!" she said harshly. "I just-"  
  
"Princess Carina-sama?" someone interrupted. Carina turned around and saw a young couple standing in front of her.   
  
"Y...yes?" she stammered.   
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you." The woman said, extending her hand. "I'm Hera, and this is Castor, my husband."  
  
"N...nice to meet you too." She said, taking the woman's hand and shaking it.  
  
"So what's this we hear about you...getting married?" Hera said. Carina promptly facefaulted.  
  
"Who told you that?" she asked, trying to appear calm.  
  
"Well there have been rumors going around...you're of age by now anyway, we just thought you would have chosen a mate." She continued. Carina desperately wished that Orion wasn't in her presence and able to hear the conversation.   
  
"No...n...not yet." She stammered.   
  
The couple finally excused themselves and said goodbye before walking back into the crowd to mingle.  
  
"Oh my god how embarrassing." Carina said, leaning against the wall.   
  
"I see her point." Orion said suggestively. Carina could easily detect the hint in his voice.   
  
"I don't want to get married yet." Carina said, folding her arms, but relaxed them again because she didn't want to appear angry. "My kaasan didn't marry until she was 19."  
  
"Fair enough." Orion said. "Want something to drink?"  
  
"No thanks...maybe later." She said. "I still want to find Goten. And where did Reena go!"   
  
"Relax, I saw her with Sirius." He said, taking her hand. "You know Reena, she will be fine."  
  
Carina sighed heavily.  
  
"Right, I just need to relax...just relax..." she said softly.   
  
Orion pulled her close.  
  
"Want to dance?" he asked.  
  
"Sure."  
  
  
Trunks and Goten were talking about Goten's encounter with Reena from the past, when a lot of the couples began to dance to the slow song that had just come on.   
  
"Great, now what?" Trunks said. "Just sit here and look like a bunch of losers?"  
  
He turned back to say something to Goten, but he was already gone.   
  
"What the...?" Trunks said, looking around. He then saw Goten and Reena dancing near the corner. Trunks wished to Kami that he had a camera.   
  
"Hey Trunks." Ceres said, stepping close up him.  
  
"Hi." Trunks said nervously.  
  
"Do you want to dance with me?" she asked, smiling sweetly.   
  
"S...sure." He said, placing his hands on her waist.   
  
Ceres just sighed and leaned against him.  
  
"Natalie is going to kill me for this." He thought. 


	20. Chapter 20

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Note: Yes, another author's note. From now on, until Trunks and co. is off Vela, I am going to call the younger versions of Reena, Ceres, etc. "Chibi Reena" or "Chibi Ceres". This should minimize confusion. Thanks!  
  
Chapter 20 - Termination  
  
As Reena and Goten danced, she suddenly formed a smile on her lips and chuckled lightly to herself.  
  
"What is it?" Goten asked.   
  
"Nothing...I just remembered something really funny." She replied.   
  
"Something funny?" Goten asked. "Tell me."  
  
"When I was ten years old...ten being in Vela years, I came to this very same party." She said.   
  
"Yeah, I know. I kinda...ran into you." Goten said, laughing nervously.  
  
"I know...I remember." Reena replied.  
  
"What do you mean...it happened 5 minutes ago?" Goten said, confused.  
  
"Goten time travel is a strange concept for you, isn't it?" she joked. "Think about it. Even if we are two separate entities in this room, we're the same person, and anything she experiences is relayed to me."   
  
"O...oh." Goten said, still looking a big lost.   
  
"Forget about it." Reena said, smiling, and leaned her head onto Goten's chest.   
  
  
After the song was over, the couples stopped dancing and each sat down at a table.   
  
"Where's Reena gone?" Carina asked, looking around. "I still haven't seen her...I'm getting worried."   
  
"Sit down, she'll turn up." Orion said, sighing. "You're going to waste all of your energy on worrying."  
  
The lights in the room went dim and the music low. Carina looked up at the front of the room just as her parents stepped up to the podium.   
  
"Oh great." She whispered, resting her chin in her palm.   
  
Orion snickered and looked at her as she rolled her eyes.   
  
"They're giving another speech. How boring." She continued.   
  
  
Trunks and the others all sat down at one of the round tables, turning their heads to face the king and queen.  
  
"What's going on?" Goten whispered.  
  
"Just a speech." Reena replied. "It's customary."  
  
"A speech? On what?" Trunks asked, joining the conversation.  
  
"Political affairs...can't go wrong there." Ceres replied, laughing softly. Sirius eyed them, as if he knew something that they didn't. Then, Reena and Ceres stopped smiling and looked at one another.   
  
"Oh no..." Reena whispered. "I remember this part."  
  
"What? What is it?" Goten asked. "Does something bad happen?"  
  
Reena just looked forward, not answering or even acknowledging Goten.   
  
  
"Welcome to the biannual council party." Queen Melina said, addressing the room.   
  
Trunks couldn't see her very well, since she was on the opposite side of the large room, but her voice was obviously amplified and rang clear throughout.   
  
"We hope you enjoy the evening's events. Tomorrow, there will be a council meeting in this same room, and we hope you will all attend." She said, while gesturing to Aries.   
  
After a few more minutes of speaking, the king and queen stepped down, and the music grew louder once again.  
  
Goten was still itching with curiosity.  
  
"Reena what happens?" he pestered.  
  
"Goten hush." She said.   
  
People began to head towards the buffet, getting their share of food, and sitting back down at the tables.  
  
"Yeah, another opportunity!" Goten said, and scooted his chair back in preparation.   
  
"Oh no you don't." Trunks said, grabbing hold of Goten's wrist. "You're not going anywhere."   
  
"Aw, Trunks come on. I'm so hungry."  
  
"You just ate half an hour ago!" Trunks cried.   
  
"I can't help it, I have a big stomach."   
  
  
Carina sat at the table, both of her elbows resting on the edge, and fiddled with her gloved fingers.   
  
"Aren't you hungry?" Orion asked.  
  
"Not really." She replied. "I'm too nervous to eat."  
  
"What for?"  
  
"I don't even know...I just have this really bad feeling...."  
  
"Do you want to leave?" Orion asked. Carina looked at him.  
  
"You know, I really wouldn't mind. But I can't." she replied.  
  
"Sure you can."  
  
"No, I feel obligated to stay." She replied.   
  
"We'll come back then. You just look like you need to get away from the crowd."   
  
"Well...okay." She said, standing up slowly. She shakily walked toward the door, followed by Orion.   
  
From a distance, chibi Reena watched her friend walk out.  
  
"I knew it." She said, watching the pair leave silently. "It was bound to happen."  
  
"Hey Reena, why the sad face?" chibi Ceres asked, stepping up to her friend.   
  
"Nothing. I just feel really stupid." Chibi Reena answered. "I saw Carina leaving with Orion, though."  
  
"Oh really?" Ceres asked, narrowing her eyes and looking towards the doors. "Hmph, I don't know what he sees in her."   
  
"What?" Chibi Reena asked.   
  
"Uh...I said I don't see her." Chibi Ceres stammered. "So she probably left."  
  
"That's what I just said." Chibi Reena commented.  
  
"Oh, of course." Chibi Ceres laughed nervously. "Anyway, Cronus wants me, so I'll be back later." She said, and then left, disappearing among the people.   
  
"Why do I have a really bad feeling about all of this?" chibi Reena asked herself, leaning against a wall.   
  
  
Sirius watched as Carina and Orion left, his muscles tensing. Trunks noticed the jump in his ki and looked over.  
  
"What's the matter?" he asked.   
  
"Nothing is wrong." Sirius replied, his face hard and cold, like stone, and his eyes burning like fire.   
  
"I don't think so. All three of you are acting really weird. Is there something we should know?" Trunks asked.   
  
"You will find out soon enough, I promise." Sirius replied.   
  
Trunks raised an eyebrow. Did this have something to do with Nat?  
  
  
Carina slowly walked down the main hall, which was completely empty with the exception of Orion and herself. Her shoes tapped the stone floor daintily as she walked. Orion quickly caught up with her and grasped her arm.  
  
"Hey, where are you going?" he asked. Carina turned back to look at him.  
  
"I feel really...strange." She said. "Like there's some foreign presence, very close by."  
  
"I don't feel anything." He said. "I think it's just your nerves."  
  
"Probably." She replied. "Probably..."  
  
Orion embraced her and looked into her eyes.  
  
"Probably." He said. Carina felt warm and safe in his grasp, and started to loosen up. She raised her chin and their lips met, as they stood alone in the hall.  
  
Suddenly, there was a sudden chill in the air, and a dark figure appeared, facing Carina's back. He extended his index finger, and there was a sudden flash.   
  
Carina's entire body jumped, and she felt a sharp, piercing sensation in her chest that brought her to her knees. She brought her hands out in front of her to keep herself from falling. Orion's eyes grew wide when he saw it...almost the same color as the dress she was wearing. A steady flow of crimson blood poured out of a hole, about the size of a quarter, in her chest.   
  
  
All three Sidra-jins jumped as a bright flash appeared outside the doors to the room. Trunks and Goten perked up and looked towards the door. After a few seconds of complete silence, the room was filled with panic.   
  
"What's going on!" Trunks yelled over the screams and cries of the crowd.  
  
"The moment we were waiting for. Come on!" Sirius said, and raced towards the door. Trunks paused for a few seconds, not understanding what he meant, but followed him anyway, with the three others close behind.   
  
When the five managed to push their way through the crowds, they burst out the door. Trunks and Goten stopped in their tracks immediately.   
  
"Trunks, Goten!" Sirius called. "Shut the doors and keep them closed. We can't let anyone out!" Goten immediately complied, and rushed over to barricade the doors, but Trunks didn't move. His eyes were locked on her.   
  
Angered, Sirius stepped in front of Trunks, blocking his view of Carina's body.  
  
"Trunks we've gone over this. Now do as I say and block the doors!!" he yelled. Trunks finally snapped out of his daze, and ran over to help Goten.   
  
  
Orion knelt down and took Carina in his arms.  
  
"C...Carina...?" he said, shaking her gently. "Oh god..."  
  
Ceres immediately pulled out a mini computer, which had apparently been strapped to her leg to be concealed by her dress.  
  
"He's hiding himself." She said, typing away furiously.   
  
Then, that same chill blanketed the room in its icy presence, and the figure appeared again, taking on the form of a male. He had his back turned to the Sidra-jins, facing Orion and Carina.   
  
Orion suddenly jumped up.  
  
"YOU!" he screamed furiously, powering up a ki blast in his bloodstained left hand.   
  
The figure laughed evilly, causing Trunks to shiver. This was far worse than the time Orion had showed on Earth.   
  
"It was me, warrior, but what are you going to do about it?" he spoke. He had long, grey-silver hair, which was tied in a loose ponytail, extending about a third of the way down his back. He was wearing a completely black suit with a white cape flowing behind him.   
  
Orion gritted his teeth and held the blast in his hand.  
  
"You should tend to your fallen princess." He said. "She's not going to be around much longer."   
  
Orion's muscles tensed and he clenched his fists, allowing the blast to dissipate, as two tears rolled down his cheeks. Trunks' eyes locked onto Orion.   
  
"Oh Kami...Goten, look." He whispered shakily, taking uneven breaths. "Orion...he's..."  
  
"Crying." Goten finished.   
  
All of a sudden, there was an enormous explosion, knocking Trunks and Goten across the hallway and into the far wall. They quickly stood up and turned around to see the queen stumble into the hall. She screamed when she saw her daughter lying in a puddle of blood on the floor.   
  
"Carina, NO!" she cried, and started to run towards her, but Sirius grabbed her arm.   
  
"Your highness, don't. He'll only kill you too." He said, holding her back.   
  
"Let me go!" she cried. The figure just laughed and turned to face her.  
  
"Melina...nice to see you again." He said, smiling maliciously.   
  
"What have you done to my daughter!" she screamed, struggling to free herself from Sirius' grip.   
  
"What do you mean?" he said, folding his arms. "I only re-routed history. Nothing major."  
  
Melina was hysterically trying to get free.   
  
"ARIES!" she cried.   
  
Aries, who had been holding people inside, turned and saw the scene.   
  
"Take your hands off of her!" he yelled at Sirius, advancing toward him. Suddenly, an enormous ki blast shot past them and slammed into Aries. When it cleared, his body was completely gone.  
  
Melina screamed again.   
  
"MURDERER!" she cried.   
  
Orion held Carina's body in his arms, shielding her from the ki blasts.   
  
"Carina...please say something." He pleaded, shaking her gently. Her raspy breaths grew slower by the minute as her life drained before his very eyes. Finally, her body shuddered and went limp, her ki completely gone. Trunks and Goten felt it as well, and Trunks forced himself to stay rational.   
  
"Melina, I think you should know my name before I leave this place for the last time." The figure spoke in an evil tone. "I am Hermes."  
  
Melina's eyes narrowed, tears hindering her vision.   
  
Hermes turned and looked at Orion holding Carina's lifeless body.   
  
"Did you enjoy the show?" he said mockingly. Orion jumped three feet into the air and powered up an enormous ki blast once again, aiming it towards Hermes. Unfortunately, Hermes was prepared, and shot his own attack at Orion.   
  
Trunks watched as the energy surrounded Orion's body and shone intensely. When it disappeared, Orion stood on the ground, an emotionless expression on his face. His pupils dilated and his body went limp as he fell, landing next to Carina.   
  
Hermes laughed again and started to glow.  
  
"Get ready Ceres." Sirius whispered to the blonde haired Sidra-jin.   
  
"I'm ahead of you." She said, focusing in on his ki. Melina ceased to struggle and turned her head to look at Sirius.  
  
"Did you say Ceres?" she asked in a soft, weak voice. Sirius nodded, releasing his grip on her arm. The queen nodded back at him and ran back into the conference room, where most of the people were passed out on the floor. She made her way over to chibi Reena, who was coughing and starting to stand up.  
  
"Reena." She spoke.   
  
"Melina-sama...what happened?" she asked.   
  
"You must find Sirius and Ceres." She said.   
  
"What? Why?" chibi Reena questioned. "What's going on out there?"  
  
"I don't have time to explain. Just find them."  
  
"We're right here." Chibi Sirius spoke, standing on the other side of Melina. Chibi Ceres stood a couple of feet to his left.   
  
"You three guardians..." Melina spoke. "You have to leave this place."  
  
"But...what about the princess?" Chibi Reena asked worriedly.  
  
"Reena...Carina is dead." Melina spoke, forcing herself not to break down again. Chibi Reena paled.   
  
"You have to go get help...so you can come back here when the time is right."  
  
"But what do we do, and where will we go?"  
  
"The Saiya-jins..." Melina trailed off.  
  
"New Vegeta?" Chibi Sirius asked.  
  
"No...Earth. Prince Vegeta-sama...he is there. Find him. Find everyone you can." She pleaded.   
  
The three guardians nodded.  
  
"You will know what to do...I trust you." She said, smiling weakly. "Go. Leave this place before it is too late."  
  
Without further delay, the three guardians took off, running down the hall towards the main entrance. Hermes spotted them and powered up a ki blast.   
  
"You three aren't going anywhere." He said, and hurled the energy towards them.   
  
"Duck!" chibi Sirius cried, grabbing the wrists of Chibi Reena and Ceres, pulling them to the ground as the blast exploded, hurling them out of the building and slamming them into the stairs. They did not stop, however, they picked themselves up, continued on to the north wing where the space pods were located.   
  
Hermes redirected his attention to the queen, who had reentered the hallway.   
  
"Now it's your turn." He said, powering up another blast. Sirius stood in front of her protectively, but she pushed him out of the way.  
  
"No, you have to get out!" she cried. "Please..."  
  
Sirius looked into the eyes of his queen.   
  
"That's an order." She said. Sirius looked at the other four and nodded his head toward the door. Ceres, still tapping on her device, took off first, followed by Reena, Goten, Trunks, and finally, Sirius, who stole one more glace at Melina before leaving.  
  
"I don't think so." Hermes said, and fired at the five. Melina looked directly into the eyes of Hermes, and smiled, before jumping into the path of the blast. She formed a ki shield using all of the power she had, forcing back the wave of energy. When she was certain that the five had escaped, she dropped her defenses, and was engulfed in the blast. 


	21. Chapter 21

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 21 - Back to the Future   
  
  
Hermes laughed as his aura grew and the ground shook. Columns crumbled and the walls shattered as the palace fell apart around him.   
  
"What a shame to see an entire empire fall in one day." He said, and continued to power up.   
  
  
The three chibi Sidra-jin warriors finally made it to the launch pad.   
  
"We have to get out of here!" Chibi Sirius cried. "This planet is going to cease to exist in a matter of moments."  
  
Chibi Reena was forcing back tears as she shakily opened one of the space pods.   
  
"We have to get into armor." Chibi Ceres said, gesturing down to her torn dress. The three placed their index fingers on their foreheads.  
  
"Heneshin!" they cried, and in an instant, their bodies lit up. Sidra-jin armor formed onto their forms, and the light died down.   
  
"Quickly." Chibi Sirius said, and jumped into his pod. They were three network space pods, meaning that they all operated on the same level. He set the controls in a frenzy as chibi Reena and Ceres jumped into their respective pods. As the doors closed, Chibi Sirius spoke.   
  
"We'll see each other soon." He said, and the doors closed, sealing the pressurized lock. Wires came out from a control panel and rested in their temples and chest as the ships powered up and shot into the sky, placing the three warriors in a state of suspended sleep.   
  
  
Trunks, Goten, Reena, Sirius, and Ceres shot out of the palace as it began to collapse. Trunks stopped running and turned around.  
  
"Natalie...she's in there." He whispered.  
  
"Trunks she's dead, come on." Goten said, grabbing Trunks' wrist and pulling him forward as debris started to fly into the air.   
  
"We need to find a large space pod to take us off." Sirius said.   
  
"What about the one we came in?" Trunks asked.  
  
"There's no time. Besides, by then, the defense station will not be allowing any ships to enter or leave the planet. We have to leave it here." Sirius answered.  
  
"But our things. The senzu beans!" Trunks cried.   
  
"No time Trunks." Reena said as they continued to run.   
  
Finally, they reached the north wing where the launch pad was located, just as three pods shot into the air.  
  
"What was that?" Goten asked.  
  
"Us." Sirius said, and gestured to Ceres and Reena as well. "Here...let's use this one."   
  
Trunks and Goten looked at a large Sidra-jin space pod, about half the size of the one they came in.   
  
"On board, now." Sirius continued to order, opening the pressurized door, which hissed as it descended. They five stepped on to the ship.   
  
"Ceres..." Reena said, looking over at the girl.   
  
"I'm almost done, I'm trying to convert this reading into energy waves which we can use to map his ki and trace his path." She said, her heart pounding as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. The door slowly closed behind them.  
  
"Wait, our armor." Trunks cried.   
  
"It's okay, there should be a couple of spare sets on board." Sirius explained, placing his forefinger onto his forehead. Reena and Ceres noted his actions, and did the same.  
  
"What the...?" Goten said.  
  
"Heneshin!" They said simultaneously. Trunks and Goten shielded their eyes from the bright light emitted from their bodies. After a few seconds, the Saiya-jins opened their eyes to see Sirius, Reena, and Ceres standing in front of them, wearing the Sidra-jin armor.  
  
"How did you..." Trunks trailed off.  
"It's a useful technique, ne?" Reena said. Ceres finally cried out happily.  
  
"I've got it." She said. "Now we have to get out of here."  
  
Sirius powered up the engine and activated the touch-screen control panel as the ground trembled.   
  
"We're not going to make it." Trunks said.   
  
He looked out the window and observed the ground cracking, forming huge holes in the ground. Buildings, trees, and even people, fell helplessly into the center of the planet.   
  
"All these people...they're..." he trailed off.  
  
"Going to die." Reena said. "I know."  
  
"Okay hold on." Sirius said, as the engine began to power up. The ship hovered above the rapidly disintegrating ground. Trunks couldn't tear himself away from the window as the ship slowly rise into the air.   
  
Suddenly, they were all pressed to the floor as it took off, speeding into the atmosphere of the planet.   
  
After Sirius pressurized the room and set the gravity, Trunks stood up and looked out the window again. The glowing ball of Hermes' ki slowly began to fade as they left the planet. The purple sky faded into a black void, filled with millions of glittering stars.   
  
After a few minutes, they were far enough away from Vela to see the entirety of it through the window.   
  
"I thought Hesperos destroyed the planet." Trunks said softly, not taking his eyes off of the floating sphere.   
  
"He did, but Hermes changed time." Ceres said. "So he never got his chance."  
  
Then, Trunks felt such an increase of ki that it made the hairs on his neck stand up, and the planet of Vela abruptly exploded, sending chunks of rock flying outward at incomprehensible speed.   
  
"We're going to be hit!" Reena cried.   
  
"No, we've got a shield system." Sirius said, setting the controls. No more than a few seconds after the shields generated, they were pummeled with Vela's remains. The ship was knocked around, causing the five warriors to lose their balance and fall onto the floor.   
  
A few minutes passed, and the berating finally died down. Ceres was the first to stand, grasping her mini-computer in her trembling hands.  
  
"So that's what it looked like..." she trailed off.   
  
"Just don't think about it, Ceres." Reena said, standing up shakily and dusting herself off.   
  
"Where do we go from here?" Trunks asked, also standing up. "We have to go back into the future, where we came from, right?"  
  
"Exactly." Ceres said.   
  
"Tell me this thing can time travel..." Trunks said, dread looming in the pit of his stomach. If they didn't, they would be stuck here...unless they went back to Earth. But he didn't want to risk any more time paradoxes.   
  
"All the Vela-sei pods do. Time travel is a fairly developed concept on our planet...or...was." Sirius said. "Now Ceres, what's the plan?"  
  
"Well we need to travel into the future from this spot, and trace Hermes." She said.   
  
"How do we know that he even survived?" Goten asked. "How could anybody survive that?"  
  
"Trust me...he survived." Reena said, looking into Goten's eyes.   
  
"How do we know he'll still be in this spot?" Trunks asked.  
  
"We don't. But, we start from here." Ceres replied, looking up from her statistics.   
  
"What if he didn't go into the future?" Goten asked. "He could have just stayed in this timeline."  
  
"No, he needed the future body of Carina. In this time, she was too young." Sirius answered. "Now stop asking questions so we can get there."   
  
"Gomen." Trunks said, lowering his head. Hell, he couldn't help it if he was anxious. Who wouldn't with their mate lost in time?  
  
After a few minutes of losing himself in flashbacks, he was brought back to reality by his own senses.   
  
"No, set it for two." Sirius said to Ceres as they stood over the control panel. "To the day."  
  
"Huh? What's going on?" Trunks asked, shaking his head and standing up.   
  
"We're setting the space-time generator." Ceres replied. "And this will work instantly, so there will be no waiting period."  
  
"That's great." Trunks said. "I really wasn't in the mood to wait anyway."  
  
Goten walked back upstairs, arms full of food. He tossed a chicken leg to Trunks, who caught it in the blink of and eye, and started to eat hungrily. He really hadn't eaten at the party...he had been too nervous to stomach anything.   
  
"Hey listen up." Ceres announced authoritatively. "Sirius and I have already set the calculated controls. We're going to go forward in time to the exact day we left, but one minute after, to prevent another time paradox. This means there will be one minute in space-time where we will cease to exist."  
  
Trunks and Goten looked at her and blinked. They didn't like that phrase.   
  
"This time travel is getting confusing." Goten said, rubbing his head.   
  
"Don't worry...when and if we defeat Hermes, it will all correct itself." Ceres replied.  
  
"What do you mean IF!" Trunks cried. "Of course we will...we have to get Nat back."  
  
Ceres narrowed her eyes.  
  
"Don't yell." She said in a calm but firm tone. She raised her hand and extended her index finger, holding it over the control panel. "Is everyone ready?" she asked.   
  
A few seconds of silence proceeded.  
  
"In that case..." she trailed off, and brought her hand down, pressing the "execute" button. Suddenly, everything froze, all sounds and lights came to a standstill, and the stars outside blurred into continuous streaks.   
  
Everybody was frozen in suspended animation, even if their senses were well aware of what was going on. After about thirty more seconds of this strange sensation, time caught up with them, and the streaks condensed into stars once more. The lights on the control panel continued their blinking, and all of the sounds resumed.   
  
Trunks shook his head, making sure that he was still able to function.  
  
"I...is that it?" he stammered, pressing his hand against his chest to make sure he was still a solid mass.   
  
Goten blinked a few times and shrugged his shoulders.   
  
"Should be." Ceres spoke. Almost instantly after she said that, Trunks and Goten were hit with the sensation of a moderately high ki nearby.   
  
"Hey...I can feel it." Trunks said. "It must be Hermes."  
  
Ceres plugged her mini-computer into the main control panel and brought up a graph similar to the one Bulma had used to explain the distortion in time.  
  
"Probably." She said. Sirius leaned against the wall, folding his arms.   
  
"Sirius you look like a Saiya-jin." Trunks joked. Sirius just raised an eyebrow.   
  
Ceres narrowed her eyes and stared at the screen, her fingers twitching while she was deep in thought.   
  
"What is it?" Sirius asked, relaxing and allowing his arms to hang at his sides as he stood up straight.  
  
"I think..." she said, "that Andromeda still exists." 


	22. Chapter 22

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 22 - What is Andromeda?  
  
  
Sirius perked up at Ceres' proposal.  
  
"But that's impossible." He said. "With the planet gone, it would be flung out of orbit and end up floating around until it crashed."  
  
"Wait...what the hell are you talking about? What is Andromeda?" Trunks asked, shaking his head in confusion.  
  
"The moon of Vela-sei." Reena replied.   
  
"Um...okay..." Trunks said, his eyes moving from Reena to Ceres to Sirius.  
  
"It still exists." Ceres said.  
  
"It can be used..." Sirius trailed off.  
  
"As a base." Ceres finished his sentence. "I know."  
  
Trunks and Goten sweat dropped and looked at each other.   
  
"What the hell? You mean for Hermes?" Reena said, jumping up. Goten tried to contain his obvious amusement. He hadn't heard Reena swear before now.   
  
"What else?" Sirius said, looking at her. "I think that's exactly where the power is coming from."  
  
"Is that where Nat is?" Trunks asked.   
  
"You two shut up for a few minutes!" Ceres snapped. "I'm trying to figure it out!"  
  
Everyone looked at Ceres with astounded expressions on their faces. She ignored them and continued to stare at the screen, taking in the readings she was getting.  
  
Trunks was having trouble sitting still. All of the sudden he was extremely anxious and angry.   
  
"Sirius you were right." Ceres said, not taking her eyes off of the screen. "There is a power coming from Andromeda, and it's frequency matches the readings I got on Vela."  
  
"I knew it." Sirius said. "So what do we do? He probably already knows we're here, we didn't have time to hide our power."  
  
"We can't hide, that's for sure. We need to land on Andromeda and find him." Ceres said. Reena sat quietly in the corner, looking out the far window.   
  
"Well at least he's not halfway across the galaxy." Trunks said, trying to lighten the mood. However, nobody found comfort in his comment.   
  
"He's got a point." Reena spoke. "The Omega is a large galaxy and we're lucky we don't have to chase him around."  
  
"Wait a minute...I thought Omega was the universe." Trunks said. "That's what Orion said when he came to Earth."  
  
"On Vela, the term "universe" has a slightly different meaning. But it is the galaxy." Reena said.   
  
"Well that explains a lot." Trunks said, recalling Nat's dream. From what she told him...  
  
"They were not king and queen of the universe." Sirius replied, looking at Trunks. "Just Omega."  
  
Trunks facefaulted.   
  
"Were you reading my mind or something!?" he said in astonishment.  
  
"Just then." Sirius replied. "Some of us can do that. Orion can as well, I'm surprised you didn't know."  
  
"Well don't use it around me!" Trunks said. "I don't want anyone reading my thoughts."  
  
Sirius smirked at him. Trunks growled inwardly...Sirius' attitude was starting to annoy him. Maybe it was a trait of Sidra-jin males.   
  
"Do you two bakas want to start this mission or not!" Ceres hissed, shattering the silence.   
  
"Ceres stop acting like the authoritative figure!" Reena retorted. "This is a group effort, not a leader-driven action!"  
  
"Nobody was speaking to you Reena!" Ceres said defensively.   
  
"All three of you!" Trunks shouted. "Stop acting like little kids!"  
  
Goten watched everyone fight with each other. He hoped that they would learn to get along before their fight with Hermes, because if it was one thing he learned, it was that if they didn't unite, they would fall, and everything they had worked for would be taken away.   
  
"Okay." Sirius spoke commandingly. "Let's just forget about it and head to Andromeda. We can worry about our differences when everyone is present and safe."   
  
Everyone was silenced immediately.   
  
"Ceres do you want to get us there or should I do it?" Sirius said, stepping toward her. She backed away submissively and sat down a few feet away from Reena. "I don't want you to think I'm normally an aggressive person, but someone has to take charge."  
  
Trunks turned towards Goten, who was looking at Reena.   
  
"He's right." She answered. "I haven't seen him this upset in a long time."   
  
"I'm sure we all want to get this over with, so why don't we just lock on to Andromeda and get there in the quickest way possible." Sirius said.   
  
"What, is it right outside the window or something?" Goten asked.   
  
"No, it's about 800 million miles from here." He replied.   
  
"Using the standard universal measurements, we should arrive in...." Ceres trailed off, calculating something on the control panel, "it should take about 71 minutes."  
  
"That's good." Trunks said.  
  
"No, this ship has old technology. The newer systems can travel through sub-dimensions and reach speeds almost ten times the speed of light." She explained. "This only has light-speed capabilities."  
  
"That ship Orion used...what about that one?" Trunks asked. "He came here pretty damn fast."  
  
"Standard pod, it travels five times faster than light." Ceres said.   
  
Everyone was extremely impressed with Ceres' knowledge.  
  
"Ceres..." Goten started. "You should have become a scientist."  
  
She looked at him.  
  
"I wanted to be." She said. "It was my dream."  
  
"What happened?" he asked.  
  
"Well obviously, I never got my chance. Vela-sei was destroyed before I was even close. You have to be at least 16 years of age on Vela, which is about 21 on Earth, to even apply for that type of job." She explained.   
  
"On Earth, you can." He said. Ceres just rolled her eyes.   
  
"What do you say we get going, huh?" she said, smiling faintly, and stepping back to the control panel. Trunks looked at Ceres and, for the first time, actually felt sorry for her. Because of events beyond her control, her dreams were taken away from her.   
  
Ceres set the controls and locked onto the celestial body Andromeda.   
  
"Since we have just over an hour, you two can shower, get something to eat, whatever." Ceres said to Trunks and Goten.   
  
"What time is it anyway?" Trunks asked. "Night or day?"  
  
"There is no concept of day or night in space, Trunks." Ceres smirked. "So there is no way of telling. But I can give you the time based on Earth readings."   
  
"What is it then?"  
  
"Estimated...1400 hours." She replied. Trunks looked puzzled and rubbed the back of his head. "Standard time." She added.   
  
"I could really use the room of spirit and time right about now." Trunks said. "We would be able to get a year's worth of training in just today. Hermes would be no match for us!"   
  
"You know, Saiya-jin, that the big threat isn't Hermes." Sirius said. "His power is relatively weak. It's his genius that is the danger. His ability to manipulate time, space, and even the Sidra-jin psyche...that's our problem."  
  
"If he can do all that...what makes you think we can just barge in, kick his ass, and make everything right again?" Goten challenged. "Based on what you three say about him...this guy is unstoppable."  
  
"Nobody is unstoppable. You just have to know how to use his weaknesses to our advantage." Ceres said.   
  
"What is his weakness then?" Goten asked.  
  
"He has no known...but that doesn't mean they don't exist." She replied.   
  
"Well let's go already."   
  
"We already are." Ceres said, laughing. "The gravity is stable, so we don't feel the speed of the ship. Only if we were in subspace would we."  
  
"Oh..." Goten trailed off. He picked at his chicken leg, cleaning off any last scrap of meat left on the bone.  
  
"You like the niku?" she asked, observing him.   
  
"The what?"  
  
"The niku. You seem to enjoy it."   
  
"This? It looks like chicken to me." Goten said, holding up the bone.   
  
"Chicken? Must be an Earth term." She said. "You and Trunks both...but then again, Saiya-jins like meat, don't they?"  
  
"I...guess." Goten said.   
  
  
  
Later, Trunks and Sirius were sparring to pass the time.  
  
Trunks threw a series of punches at Sirius' body, but missed every time. Sirius managed to dodge every one perfectly, almost like he predicted his next movement. Trunks brought his foot around to do a side-swipe, but Sirius jumped up and threw his foot out, kicking Trunks in the jaw. Trunks retaliated by grabbing Sirius' leg and hurling him onto his back, bringing his fists down. Sirius rolled away and Trunks' hands struck the floor of the ship. Cursing, Trunks wiped sweat off of his forehead and charged the Sidra-jin warrior.   
  
"You look so cocky. That's not a good attitude to have in a fight." Trunks said, sneering.  
  
"It's not intended, I just have that appearance." Sirius replied coolly, bringing his fist to Trunks' chest at an insanely high speed. Trunks dodged easily and knocked Sirius in the back, throwing him off balance, and kicked him in the side, sending him flying towards the wall. Sirius skidded to a halt and turned, rubbing his ribcage.   
  
"Good job Saiya-jin." He said.  
  
"You...why do you have to call me that? I have a name you know." Trunks said.   
  
"Trunks." Sirius said, and then blurred out of sight. Trunks sensed him right behind him, so he immediately jumped out of the way. Sure enough, Sirius went sailing past him. They continued to battle for a few more minutes, getting very few hits in on each other.   
  
Then, there was a flashing of light, and they both stopped to see Ceres standing in the doorway of the chamber.  
  
"Are you two going to get ready?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "We land in less than ten minutes. You two might want to shower."  
  
"Thanks, Ceres." Trunks said, wiping his forehead and lowering his ki to normal. She just winked and walked out, leaving Trunks to roll his eyes and sigh. Sirius threw a towel around his shoulders and walked to the door after Ceres. Trunks was the last to depart, turning off the light as he left, and shutting the automatic door. 


	23. Chapter 23

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 23 - Encounter the Malevolence  
  
  
The ship landed with an enormous impact. Being an older model, it did not have the capabilities of a silent landing, as the newer models did. If Hermes hadn't detected them before, he certainly did now.   
  
Trunks looked out the window again as he slipped on a glove to complete his attire. He was wearing the all too familiar Sidra-jin armor. It was so close to Saiya-jin armor that Trunks felt at ease in it. However this armor was more flexible, and it seemed to custom fit his build. He shifted his weight and stretched his arms out in front of him, then following with a sigh of nervousness and agitation.  
  
"Not overly exciting, is it?" Goten said, joining his friend, also suited in armor.   
  
"It's so eerie...and too quiet." Trunks said. It was very similar to the moon of Earth, but some differences remained. First of all, the sky was dark grey, almost black, but no stars were present, meaning that some atmosphere existed. Clumps of what appeared to be dull, hardened shrubs sprouted from various points on the moon's surface. Craters and mountains were abound. However, there was no sign of water, or even life, for that matter. Still, that didn't rule out the possibility.   
  
The hiss of the airlock grabbed Trunks' attention and he turned his head to face the direction from which it had originated to see Reena, Ceres, and Sirius stepping into suits.  
  
"What are you doing?" Trunks questioned, stepping away from the window and locking his eyes on their forms.  
  
"Suiting up. You want to breathe, don't you?" Sirius replied.  
  
"There is no oxygen on this moon?"  
  
"There is, but in trace amounts. Besides the air pressure is extremely low, just short of being a complete vacuum. So...you two might want to join us." He replied, and held up a helmet.   
  
  
  
The moon seemed to hold its breath as the five warriors emerged, stepping onto the dusty, barren surface. No wind blew, no birds cried, nothing. The only sensation that Trunks felt was his own pulse, and the burning ki in the distance. Hermes.  
  
"Now we need to find him." Ceres said, her voice given a mechanical tone as it rang through the built-in receiver in the helmets they were all wearing. "He is probably underground, hiding out in a makeshift base..."  
  
She trailed off as a low rumbling came from the ground, causing pebbles and various rocks to dance along the moon's surface. Trunks looked down at the ground and then up at Ceres.   
  
"Moonquake?" he asked.   
  
"Iie, there is nothing to quake. It's just one solid mass now, condensed over time." She said.  
  
The vibration had been relatively mild, not so strong that it would knock the warriors off of their feet, but they were still slightly shaken. But, it was from nerves and adrenaline more than the fear of a quake.  
  
"Then what are you suggest-"  
  
"You know what it is." Sirius interrupted. "We have wasted too much time with discussion."  
  
"Well do you have any better ideas? Oh I know...let's just burst in and expose ourselves to being vulnerable, and ask him nicely to give us back our princess!" Reena snapped. She was siding with the Saiya-jins more and more as they continued to interact. "I'm sure that would really go over well, Sirius! While we're at it, how about we ask him to fix all of the time paradoxes that were caused by him in the first place!"  
  
Sirius ran his hand over his helmet, rolling his eyes and sighing.   
  
"I understand your frustration, but turning on this mission is not the way to solve it." He said.  
  
"WHAT mission! We didn't even have a plan in the first place! We just blindly set our coordinates to Earth and HOPED for the best. Now we're going to try to take on Hermes, the malicious mastermind superpower, and depend on our instincts and our luck!" Reena said, seething. Her face turned red and burned with anger, which was quite visible through her visor. "And I am FED up with living in the shadows of you and Ceres! If you two are so smart, then why don't go put your brains to use as the monarchial guardians you are!"  
  
Ceres and Sirius just paused and looked at her, neither knowing just what to say in defense of themselves.   
  
Trunks' senses heightened and he saw something out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to look, it was gone.   
  
"What is it? Did you see something?" Goten asked, noticing Trunks' change in expression.  
  
"Yeah...well I thought I did. It looked like a bird...or something like that." He replied. Just as he finished his last sentence, the ground rumbled again, this time more violently. Reena stumbled and fell, flinging her arms helplessly as she traveled to the ground. Just as she began to stand up, the ground cracked beneath her.   
  
"Reena!" Goten shouted, and tried to run toward her, but he couldn't seem to will his body to move. Reena, taken by surprise, had no time to react before she was sucked down into the void. Just as she disappeared, the ground sealed above her and returned to its intact state.   
  
Goten, who finally managed to snap out of his trance, just stared at the ground where she had just been standing. Everyone else remained speechless as well, until finally Sirius spoke.  
  
"We will get her back, I swear it on my life." He said. "If there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that Hermes is doing this."  
  
"How can you talk so...calmly!" Goten protested. "This is your friend, and she just disappeared! He could be killing her!"  
  
"No." Sirius said, and then looked at Goten with such an expression of seriousness and certainty that the young Saiya-jin hybrid stepped back. "He won't dare kill her."  
  
Inside, Sirius knew that he was lying. Hermes probably had the intent of using Reena as bait for Carina. He knew that if he threatened her life, then Carina would relent and give herself up, if she hadn't already. But Sirius knew that he could not let Goten know.  
  
Trunks studied Sirius' expression. He was a good liar, indeed, but still penetrable in his defenses. Trunks then turned to Goten, who had a distressed aura about him, even as he struggled to calm himself at hearing Sirius' assurance.   
  
The Saiya-jin's attention was then drawn to something else. A series of tiny bleeps were emitted from Ceres' general vicinity. Fearing the worst, Trunks spun around and held up his fists, preparing to attack anything that threatened him or any of the other warriors. Ceres obviously noticed him and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Did I startle you?" she asked, holding up her little computer. "Gomen. I was doing readings on those energy outbursts I received when the ground split open."  
  
"Any results?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Hermes." She nodded. "He's making it easy for us to find him. If he wanted, he could conceal himself and we would never find him. It's a good thing that his ego is so big, he doesn't think we can do any harm."  
  
  
  
A dark figure stood in the shadows of an unknown realm, his face partially illuminated by an unseen light source. An evil smirk was spread across his face as he stood, his arms folded.   
  
"They think they can outwit me, do they?" he spoke, his voice deep and menacing. He then turned to a cowering, frightened figure in a corner. "Don't worry. Your friends will be here soon. And you will get to watch."  
  
  
  
"This way." Ceres said, pointing her finger toward the east horizon. "The energy is coming from over there."   
  
"No, I feel the ki in the opposite direction." Trunks protested, pointing his finger to the west.  
  
"That's not Hermes." Ceres said absolutely. "It's somewhat of a decoy. The readings don't match in that direction."  
  
"Fine." Trunks said, and focused on the direction that Ceres had pointed to.   
  
The four walked for what seemed to be hours until they reached a land formation.   
  
"This is it?" Trunks asked, advancing toward the quasi-mountain. "This is Hermes' base?"  
  
"Or the entrance." Sirius said. "Somehow we have to get inside."  
  
"How about the old fashioned way?" Trunks said, preparing to charge a ki attack.   
  
"Worth a try." Sirius replied, and stepped back. Goten and Trunks stood next to each other and both charged ki blasts in their hands.   
  
"Yaaahhh!!" they cried in unison, launching their assault onto the stone structure. On contact, the blasts exploded with tremendous force, throwing dust and rock outward at speeds in which they could impale a normal human in a matter of seconds. However, the four warriors were not normal, and they knew to put up ki shields. When the dust died down, there lay a pile of rubble where the mountain had once been.   
  
"So where is this entrance, Ceres?" Goten asked defiantly. "All I see is rock and dust."  
  
"It's here somewhere." She said, and stepped into the debris, poking around with the boots of her suit. She overturned rocks and brushed dirt off of potential areas, but there was nothing.  
  
"Maybe you just miscalculated." Goten said. "It happens on occasion."  
  
"But I could have sworn..." she trailed off, looking to the west horizon. "Oh I suppose you are right. Let's go." Ceres jumped over a large boulder and landed on several smaller rocks, losing her footing on the ground. She fell backward, reaching her arms outward in a panic to grasp onto some sort of support, but found none. She tumbled toward the moon's surface, flipping her body around like a cat so that she would land on her stomach, outstretching her arms to stop her. However, the ground below her dissolved into that same black void, and she fell in, screaming in surprise.  
  
"Shit!" Trunks shouted, jerking his head toward the scene, just as Ceres' foot fell out of sight and she disappeared. "He got Ceres! She was the brains of this operation."  
  
Sirius looked in the same direction that Trunks was, and his eyes burned with anger.  
  
"We have to keep going." He said, stepping down from a large rock.  
  
"He's just going to pick us off one by one!" Goten shouted in rage. "We're nothing if we are separated."  
  
"Goten...Sirius is right." Trunks said. "We're nothing if we give up either. If we fail, at least we'll fail trying."  
  
"We won't fail." Sirius said. His voice went from calm to enraged and his ki rose to match.   
  
"No, stop. Don't waste your energy." Trunks said.   
  
"There is no energy to waste. I don't have half the ki that you two do. I specialize in ESP." he replied. "So do the others."  
  
"Reena...Ceres..." Goten trailed off.   
  
"Carina." Sirius finished. "She doesn't know it, but those abilities are buried deep within her, and can be unlocked by Hermes should she submit. That, combined with her strength in her ki, could prove to be fatal for us."  
  
"Nat wouldn't kill us." Trunks assured Sirius.  
  
"She wouldn't, but Hermes would in an instant." He retorted. "His mind and her body...it's a lethal game to play. Not only that, but then there is the matter of extinction."  
  
Trunks' head jerked up and he looked at Sirius.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Forget it." Sirius said, not wishing to anger the Saiya-jin any further.   
  
"No, tell me Sirius."  
  
"Iie."  
  
Trunks slammed his foot into the ground angrily. He thought he would explode with rage, but he wouldn't dare turn on his own allies. They were all he had on this dark, cold world of isolation and fear.   
  
  
  
Ceres opened her eyes, straining to see. She ran a hand through her hair, and then paused, taking a few strands of blonde hair and holding them up to her face in sheer surprise. Her hair had grown by at least fifteen inches, and it draped halfway down her back. She then detected something moving next to her in the low light. Ceres immediately froze and her heart raced. Then, she saw the face of Reena come into view. Reena's hair had also grown longer, and was now about the same length as Ceres' was.   
  
"Ce...res..." Reena said. "Is it you Ceres?"   
  
"H...hai. Reena." Ceres replied. "What has happened to us?"   
  
"I...I don't know." The timid girl replied. "All I remember is falling for a long time, and then something slamming into me, and I woke up here."  
  
"That's just what I remember." Ceres replied.   
  
"Where are we?" Reena asked fearfully  
  
"I have a feeling that Hermes put us here." Ceres replied, running her hands along the cold, smooth floor. She could barely make out anything. All she saw was Reena's face and the silhouette of her body. Ceres then realized that they weren't wearing their space suits. In fact...  
  
"Where are our clothes!?" Reena cried out, throwing her arms over herself in embarrassment.  
  
Ceres realized that they didn't have anything on...at all.   
  
"They disappeared." Came a voice from behind. The two girls shrieked and backed into the corner. "But no worry, I have no interest in the two of you."  
  
"Hermes!" Ceres snarled.   
  
"So...you've heard of me?" he said mockingly. He remained in the shadows, not wishing to reveal himself to them just yet.   
  
"What have you done??" Reena cried, keeping herself concealed in shadows as well.  
  
"Me? Nothing. I only brought you here to keep you...in a safe place." He replied. "As for your clothes...this room...this place...it exists in a time void, which keeps you in your "pure", or "true" forms. Hence, your hair is longer, and you are only given what you were when you were born. Your own flesh and blood."  
  
"Pure form? But why?" Ceres questioned, her voice still filled with anger.  
  
"Because that's the way I like things. Pure." Hermes sneered.   
  
"Where...where is-"   
  
"Carina? She's safe." He replied. "You needn't worry about her. And your friends...Sirius...and the Saiya-jins. They'll be here shortly. Until then, you might want to put something on." He finished, grinning wickedly, and throwing something at the frightened girls. After he disappeared in an explosion of black light, Ceres and Reena inched forward.  
  
"Clothing." Ceres said, grabbing the items and pulling them close. "Bodysuits."  
  
"Hand me one Ceres...I'm getting cold." Reena said.   
  
"It's your own nerves. There is no environment in this place. It's a time paradox within itself. And we only exist in our pure forms, like he said." Ceres replied.  
  
"I don't care what it is, I want to get something on before anyone else shows up."  
  
"Hai...gomen." Ceres said, and tossed Reena a bodysuit, which she promptly slipped into. After they had both dressed, they sat alone, Reena crying quietly to herself, and Ceres desperately trying to make sense of the situation using logic.  
  
  
  
The three male warriors had walked for an easy half hour, searching for any sign of life.  
  
"Where do you think they went?" Goten asked.   
  
"Who knows." Trunks replied, kicking a grey rock angrily. "That bastard, I'll kill him. I'll rip out his throat..."  
  
"You can do all those things later. Focus on finding the god damned guy first." Sirius spat. Trunks' was taken by surprise at that comment. Se sensed anger deep within Sirius, that was screaming to get out, but that Sirius wouldn't allow it to be so. He kept too many secrets.   
  
Suddenly, Goten stopped. The other two turned and stopped as well, looking on in confusion.  
  
"Something wrong, Goten?" Trunks asked.  
  
"I...I don't know." Goten replied, looking down at the ground as he stood rock solid. "I just get the feeling that there is something here."  
  
"Shit, Goten, levitate!" Trunks shouted, hovering into the air. Goten did the same, and Sirius finally joined the two.   
  
They waited a few minutes, and nothing happened. Goten began to land on the ground, but Trunks stopped him.  
  
"Goten, no. Not yet." He said. Goten cooperated and leveled himself with Trunks once more. Suddenly, a large ki blast hit the three of them from behind. Trunks opened his mouth to cry out, but he was paralyzed. The energy surrounded the three and immobilized them, sucking them into the pit that formed below. 


	24. Chapter 24

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 24 - Forgotten Kin  
  
  
Trunks knew that he was in a dark room before he even opened his eyes. He also felt the presence of others. As his eyelids slowly slid back, he heard a voice.  
  
"Trunks, you're awake?"   
  
"Goten!" Trunks cried, snapping his eyes and looking at his friend. "Goten..."  
  
"Yeah, I know. Yours is the same too." The Saiya-jin said. Trunks ran a hand through his hair. It was down to his shoulders. Fortunately, they were both already clothed in bodysuits of Sidra-jin armor.  
  
"How the hell...?" Trunks trailed off.  
  
"I have no idea." Goten replied. His hair was also long, spiking outward past his collarbone.   
  
"Where is Sirius?" Trunks asked.   
  
"Right here." Came a deep voice. Sirius stepped out of the shadows into the dull light emitted from the unknown source, also fitted in a bodysuit. His hair had not grown much at all, but there was something peculiar about him.   
  
"Impossible!" Trunks cried, jumping up.   
  
"It is not impossible at all. We are in our pure forms."  
  
"Then how..."  
  
"Because, Saiya-jin, I am one of you." Sirius said, and unwrapped a brown tail from around his waist. Trunks and Goten also noted that they too had tails.   
  
"B...but you said..." Trunks stammered. "I thought you were Sidra-jin."  
  
"Half, actually." Sirius explained. "I should tell you..."  
  
Sirius was cut off by a blow to his head, causing him to stumble forward and fall to the ground. Trunks and Goten turned to the figure that appeared behind him.  
  
"You!" Goten growled. "You must be..."  
  
"You've heard of me. Yes, I am him." He spoke. He generated a light with his ki and the entire room lit up. Trunks looked around and his face twisted into one of disgust. Reena and Ceres were in one corner, trapped in an invisible confinement. As he looked around the room, Trunks grew angrier. Then, his eyes locked onto a solitary figure and he recoiled in shock.   
  
"Nat...alie..." he said, his eyes widening. She was held against the far wall by a band of light around her neck, and another around her waist. Her hair was down to her waist and her tail dangled in between her legs.   
  
"You fool. She doesn't even know who you are." Hermes sneered. "No memory."  
  
Trunks, enraged, screamed and threw a ki blast at the figure, but it was absorbed into an invisible wall that was surrounding him and the other two.   
  
"Bastard!" Trunks shouted. "How could you take her life in your hands like that!"  
  
Goten reached a hand up and pulled Trunks back by his shoulder.  
  
"It's no use, Trunks." He said.   
  
"Yes, it's no use. Listen to your Saiya-jin partner." Hermes said. "It's really quite fortunate that you five were smart enough to find me. Now I have to decide how to dispose of you."  
  
"You're as cocky as Orion was! You stupid Sidra-jin males and your egos! You think you're invincible!" Trunks snarled.   
  
"Just how would you know of Orion?" Hermes asked. "He never even left Omega. Never got a chance."   
  
Trunks smirked and pointed to a small microchip device rested on his temple.  
  
"I figured someone of your caliber would have figured it out by now." He retorted. "Our memories are preserved. Every last one."  
  
"Maybe I'll let you suffer before I kill you. You know, heighten the experience."   
  
Trunks growled like a furious animal and gritted his teeth. Just then, Sirius sat up and stood next to Trunks, his hands by his side and his chin raised to face Hermes, who was standing a good twenty feet away.  
  
"The two remaining members of the Sidra-jin monarchy...have finally reunited." Hermes continued, talking in a sinister tone.  
  
"Remaining two!?" Trunks cried. "Who else is left?"  
  
"He's standing right next to you, ignorant animal." Hermes smirked.  
  
Trunks turned to Sirius, his mouth agape in shock.   
  
"You..." Trunks trailed off, not able to find words.  
  
"The concealed offspring of the queen. Only three people knew. Aries, Melina, and of course, him." Hermes explained, smiling wickedly in amusement at Trunks and Goten's reactions.  
  
"You are related to her aren't you." Trunks said feebly. Sirius only nodded, keeping his eyes locked onto Hermes.   
  
"Who would have guessed...the brother of the delicate princess Carina." Hermes said, folding his arms and shifting his weight. "It's a shame you both didn't inherit the same...traits. I could use another addition to my growing collection."   
  
"Collection!" Trunks cried.   
  
"Two members and growing. If you five weren't so pitifully weak I would use you as well."   
  
"Who else did you save?" Trunks queried, his voice raising pitch in curiosity as he narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to see the form of Natalie against the wall.  
  
"Extinction." Sirius muttered. "You wouldn't."  
  
"I already did.' Hermes said, toying with the young warriors. "You wouldn't want to see the entire race fall after one minor change in the timeline, now, would you? I took the precautions and preserved one warrior of the highest class..."  
  
Trunks stomach knotted and he literally wanted to double over and wretch. Goten looked at Trunks nervously as Sirius shouted an irrational slur of words at Hermes.   
  
"Oh, does it bother you? After all, I'm only continuing the family." The evil genius spoke.   
  
"You bastard of the lowest class." Sirius spat. "You won't be satisfied until you take everything from her."  
  
"The only thing left to take is her free will. After that is done, you will be only a memory."   
  
Trunks felt the nausea creep into his throat and he struggled to swallow. Hermes' words sent a bullet of fear tearing through his chest.   
  
"Your mother tried to hide you. I have to give her credit, she was smart in making sure nobody knew of the first born. However, not even she could protect you." Hermes said to Sirius, his icy blue eyes reflecting the burning fire that lit up the room.   
  
"She, nor I, will ever submit to you." Sirius hissed.   
  
"One with such a weak heart will be easily manipulated." Hermes said, gesturing to Carina. "All I have to do is threaten someone she loves."  
  
"If Sirius is really Nat...Carina's brother...then why was his identity concealed, and why was he a guardian?" Trunks questioned.   
  
"I might as well offer you the insight before you die." Hermes said, and glanced casually at Sirius again. "This person who stands next to you was the first offspring of the king and queen. He was kept a secret to protect him from terrorists and other threats. To cover for herself, Melina engineered a situation in which the little boy was believed to be missing, later declared dead. After they had the princess two years later, Sirius took the position as one of her future guardians, joining Ceres and Reena."  
  
"But why?" Trunks asked, trying to overcome his initial astonishment.  
  
"Think of it as insurance, Saiya-jin. In the event that something happened to Carina, there would still be royal family members left to continue the pitiful monarchy. However, Carina was born a prodigy, the legendary Shiroi no Tenshi, heightening the threat to her life. Sirius was kept a secret, his heritage only known to two others, both of the royal family themselves. Not even she knows." He continued, and extended his arm in Carina's direction once again.   
  
Goten stole a glance at the two females huddled in the corner. Ceres looked extremely pale and Reena was crying with her hands over her face and her knees pulled to her chest. Rage boiled inside his chest as he saw her tormented figure shuddering all alone in the corner. What had she done to deserve this!?   
  
"HERMES!" Goten shouted, thrusting his finger in the direction of the two girls. "Let them go!"   
  
"I will not." Hermes said commandingly. "They will remain there until their turn has come."  
  
"Nani??" Goten cried. "How could you kill innocent people!"  
  
"It's a talent." Hermes sneered, narrowing his eyes. "As for the three of you...I think it would be fitting if someone else did the honors."   
  
He snapped his fingers and the bands of light around Carina's neck and waist disappeared, and her body fell to the ground.   
  
"She won't kill us, not until she is under your power, and she will never give in to you." Sirius barked.   
  
"Shiroi no Tenshi..." Trunks whispered, looking in the direction of the fallen princess.   
  
"She can only achieve that state at full power." Hermes said to Trunks. "Which is limited, unless I allow it to be so."  
  
"That would kill her." Sirius growled. "Don't you dare."  
  
"Don't you want to see it?" Hermes inquired, his voice mixed with malevolence. "I hear it's quite a sight."  
  
  
Carina's limp form finally stirred and she slowly forced her head up to look at the people on the opposite side of the room. Her senses were dulled and she squinted, trying to make out faces.   
  
She emitted a low moan as she pushed her torso up, supporting herself with her elbows as the rest of her body lay on its side. Pain racked her body and her form trembled under the pressure.  
  
  
Trunks' eyes caught the movement of Natalie in the distance. His muscles tensed in anticipation, as his anger continued to rise. Hermes noted the increase in ki and looked at the hybrid Saiya-jin.  
  
"She's awake, is she?" he said, turning his head to face her. She immediately shrunk back in fear.   
  
Sirius turned his head to look at Carina's form as well. As she cowered from Hermes' presence, a low growl was emitted from his throat.   
  
"What did you do to her!" the warrior demanded.  
  
"I didn't do anything." He said.   
  
"If anyone so much as touched her, I'll-"  
  
"You'll what, weak little prince? Hurt me? I doubt it."  
  
"You're the weak one. You can't face us yourself. You get her to do your dirty work." Sirius argued.  
  
"If she's available, why wouldn't I use her?"   
  
  
Ceres watched on, feeling helpless, and she became angry at herself. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She formed an image of Hermes in her mind and analyzed his build. After a few minutes, she zeroed in on his icy blue eyes.  
  
Suddenly, her eyes shot open, and she locked her ki onto that of Hermes. Her muscles tensed and beads of sweat formed onto her forehead.   
  
  
Hermes' eyes widened as he lost control of his body. Sirius immediately looked over at Ceres, who had her eyes narrowed as she concentrated.   
  
"Damn..." Hermes said, trying to regain control. His arm rose into the air and he made a fist. Just as he did this, the invisible walls around the two groups of warriors flickered and disappeared in a flash of light. While Ceres struggled to keep her ki locked on, Trunks and Sirius jumped up, rushing over to Carina. Goten raced to Reena, who was wide-eyed in shock.   
  
"Reena!" Goten cried, embracing the purple-haired Sidra-jin.   
  
"Goten don't raise your ki. She will lose her concentration." Reena said, her eyes on Ceres. "She shouldn't have done this..."  
  
"Why not?" Goten whispered harshly. "If she hadn't, we would still be trapped."  
  
"Because, Goten, she will eventually lose it. When Hermes regains control of his body, there is no telling what he will do to her." She replied.  
  
A chill ran up Goten's spine as he looked at Ceres. She was putting her own life on the line to save the others. She was no longer the mischievous, mind-manipulating girl he thought she was. She was sacrificing herself.   
  
"Reena we have to get out of here." Goten said, standing up and grabbing her hand. "If we don't, her attempts will have been in vain."  
  
"Hai." Reena said, standing up slowly, her hair sweeping down her back as she looked over at Carina.   
  
Trunks and Sirius stood over the girl.  
  
"There is no way of telling what she has been through. From the looks of it, she is in pain." Sirius said, his eyes on her.   
  
Carina placed her hands over the back of her head and looked at the ground, whimpering.  
  
"Please don't hurt me." She cried.   
  
"Carina it's me, Sirius." He said, extending his hand to her. Carina looked up with tears in her eyes and her mouth slowly opened.   
  
"Sirius. You have to get away." She said. "Hermes will kill you if he finds you."  
  
"He already knows we're here." Sirius explained. "Don't worry, we're not going to leave without you."  
  
"You came all this way..." she said, looking back at the ground. She felt extreme guilt in her heart. Her friends made it so far, put their lives on the line, and risked everything, just for her. If anything happened to them, she would never be able to forgive herself.  
  
Trunks stood aside, longing to reach out to her, but he knew that she had no memory of him. In fact, he was surprised that she hadn't noticed his presence and recoiled in fright.  
  
Just then, there was a scream, and Trunks looked over at Ceres. She was grasping her head, her body trembling as she struggled to breathe. She had lost it.  
  
Sirius' grip on Carina's arm tightened as his adrenaline rushed through his body, preparing to fight or flee.   
  
Hermes, upon repossessing his mind, snapped his head around and locked onto Ceres.  
  
"So you thought you would be able to control me, you pathetic little bitch?" he snarled, taking slow steps toward her.   
  
Already worn, Ceres lifted her head to see Hermes advancing toward her. She knew that she had nothing left now, because she had wasted he energy too early. But, she had managed to free the others.   
  
Hermes stopped when he was three feet away from Ceres' still shaking form. Goten inched away, his eyes wide, and pulled on Reena to remove her from the scene.  
  
"No!" Reena cried, and tried to jump in front of Ceres, but it was too little too late. In the blinks of an eye, Hermes had Ceres by the neck and he held her two feet off of the ground. "Put her down!" Reena begged, and began to stand.   
  
Goten jerked Reena toward him and grabbed her before she could do anything stupid. He wasn't going to lose more than he had to.   
  
"You will be the first to go." Hermes said, and tightened his grip on Ceres' throat. Ceres placed her trembling hands on his arm and clawed, trying to pry his iron fist off of her.   
  
"Goten!" Reena cried, trying to squeeze out of his grip. However he held steady and kept her from escaping.  
  
The room grew eerily silent and everyone turned to Hermes, who kept Ceres suspended in the air as he slowly choked the life out of her.   
  
Carina's eyes widened as she observed the horrific sight.   
  
"Ceres NO!" she cried, stumbling forward.   
  
Trunks and Sirius grabbed both of Carina's arms to stop her.   
  
"Let me go!" she screamed. "She's going to die!"  
  
Hermes suddenly turned and looked at the struggling girl.  
  
"I will spare her..." he said. "If you give up your soul."  
  
"Carina don't." Sirius snarled. "Don't let him manipulate you."  
  
"I...I can't let her die." Carina whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks.   
  
Ceres looked at Carina, her vision fading as the oxygen faded from her brain. She didn't have the energy or ability to talk.   
  
"Don't listen to him." She thought to herself, knowing however that Carina didn't have the ability to pick up on her thoughts as of yet.   
  
"What is it going to be!" Hermes yelled, thrusting his arm toward Carina with Ceres' body dangling.   
  
Carina stood up completely and looked into Hermes' eyes. Sirius and Trunks stepped in front of her protectively, but she pushed them out of the way and moved forward a few feet.  
  
"Put her down." She spoke sternly.  
  
"Only if you give in." Hermes countered.  
  
Carina stared long and hard into his eyes.  
  
"Fine...you win." She said, her voice quivering she struggled to hold onto her composure and stance.   
  
Hermes laughed evilly and tossed Ceres across the room like a rag doll.   
  
"NO!" Sirius yelled, grabbing Carina's arm and pulling her behind him. "Don't touch her!"  
  
"She agreed. There is nothing you can do." Hermes said, walking toward him.   
  
Sirius started to power up, but his ki stopped responding and hit a brick wall. He tried again, and this time, instead of rising, his ki started draining.   
  
"Don't try to fight me." Hermes said. "I locked onto your ki. If you resist, I will lower it until you are knocked unconscious."  
  
"Leave him alone!" Carina yelled at Hermes. "He is only doing what he is instructed to do!"  
  
"And that is...?" Hermes asked.  
  
"Protect me." She said, and then looked at Sirius. "But he doesn't have to waste his energy anymore, because I don't need saving." She then turned back to Hermes. "So leave him ALONE!"   
  
Hermes face twisted into an amused grimace as her ki rose and a golden aura formed around her.   
  
"You like the rush of energy, do you?" he asked.   
  
"Leave him alone!" she shouted, her ki continuing to rise.   
  
"Of course, your highness." Hermes said, and Sirius dropped to the ground. Carina's tail thrashed behind her, proving the extent of her anger.   
  
"You let them all go, and then you get what you want." She demanded.   
  
"I can't do that." He said, and stepped closer to the three. "You already gave up."  
  
"Iie!" she cried. "Not until they are free!"  
  
Hermes held out his palm and curled his index finger toward him, signaling for Carina to step forward.  
  
"I'm not going to repeat myself!" she snarled.   
  
"You don't have a choice anymore."   
  
Carina cried out in shock as her body slid forward on the smooth floor. Hermes reached out and grasped her neck in his hand.   
  
Sirius stood up and gathered all of his reserve strength and hurled himself toward the towering figure. Before he could make an impact, however, he hit an invisible wall and bounced back.   
  
"Damn you!" he cried, as Trunks stepped up to him.  
  
"Sirius...we need to wait until he is distracted." Trunks whispered. "If we combine attacks it just might work."  
  
Sirius stared at Hermes, his teeth clenched, and growled. He then looked at Reena, who was being held by Goten, and then at Ceres, who was lying in the corner in a heap.   
  
Hermes, behind the shield of the invisible forcefield, held Carina's neck, his arm extended outward. He then placed the two forefingers of his free hand on her forehead and she forced her eyes shut.  
  
"Now don't struggle, and this will be quick." He said, and then forced energy into her.  
  
Carina cried out in pain as her body was paralyzed. She had made a stupid mistake. But if she had allowed Ceres to die, she would have lived in torment. She just hoped that her friends would be able to stop her once she was under the control of Hermes.   
  
Hermes narrowed his eyes as he completed his job. When he had finally finished pouring energy into her forehead, he placed his hands on her temples and pressed down as his fingers emitted a strange black light.   
  
Carina, by now, had been silenced, and the only sign that she was alive were the few tears that escaped her eyes. Her tail was limp, as was the rest of her body, she didn't blink, or even breathe.   
  
Just as Hermes pulled his hands away from her head, he was struck in the back. Losing his grip on Carina, she was thrown backward by the force as Hermes stumbled forward, gasping in anger. He finally gained balance and turned around to see Trunks, Sirius, and Goten, all standing with their palms extended outward with smoke rising off of their fingers. Then pain shot through his back and he realized that they had done major damage to his back.  
  
"I told you...he is relatively weak." Sirius said to Trunks and Goten, keeping his eyes on Hermes. "He just relies on his mind, and the power of others."  
  
"You fools think you can outsmart a mastermind with your ki's!" Hermes said, and began a fit of laughter. "You cannot stop me, for the damage has already been done, and can't be reversed."  
  
Just as he finished, Carina stood up on wobble legs, shaking her head as she regained her senses and coordination. After blinking a few times, she raised her head to look at everyone.  
  
"Carina!" Sirius cried, taking half a step back. Trunks also looked at her and recoiled. Her brown hair was streaked with silver and her green eyes had turned a fierce red. 


	25. Chapter 25

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 25 - Gotenks Revived  
  
  
"What have you done!" Sirius growled at Hermes, threatening to throw another ki blast in his direction.   
  
"What's done is done. Look at her. I couldn't reverse it if I wanted to." Hermes replied.  
  
"Turn her back!" Sirius said. "Or I will send this blast right through your head."  
  
"Sirius no, he'll drain your ki again." Goten said.   
  
"No. He can only do it if he is more powerful than the victim. He is weakened now." Sirius explained. "He can't stop us."  
  
"I cannot." Hermes said. "But she can. She is no longer your princess Carina, but the Shiroi no Tenshi."  
  
"That's just a myth, it is not real!" Sirius spat.   
  
"So were the super Saiya-jins. But you see them standing before you." Hermes argued. "You know, Sirius, that it is true, but you don't want to admit it."  
  
"If you allow her to go into that state, you will kill her." Sirius said. "Why do you want to kill her?"  
  
"There is a chance, but I am willing to take it. Besides, if she does die, there are always offspring."   
  
Trunks' breath caught in his throat. Offspring?? What was that supposed to mean?  
  
"Are you telling me that she produced children!?" Sirius snapped.   
  
"Not yet she hasn't. That's not to say she won't."   
  
  
Trunks looked at Goten angrily and snarled, whispering something inaudible to his friend. Goten shook his head "no".   
  
"Why not!" Trunks argued quietly. "If we do, we might stand a chance."  
  
Goten looked at his friend with a solemn expression for a few moments before dropping his head and sighing, obviously having given in to Trunks' request.  
  
The two then stood about five feet apart, looked at each other, and nodded.  
  
  
"Hermes I will kill you with my bare hands." Sirius hissed, clenching his fists. "You immoral, malicious, son of a bitch. How dare you do that to her!"  
  
Hermes just scowled.  
  
"I figured you would have been content with the choice I made." He said.  
  
"It's not for you to decide!" the warrior cried. "Just tell me that you haven't...carried out your...plan."   
  
"And if I have?"  
  
"Tell me god damnit"  
  
Hermes was about to answer when he was cut off by two cries.  
  
"FUSION!"   
  
There was a flash of light, and Sirius turned around to see a figure standing amidst a large golden aura.   
  
"Where are the Saiya-jins!" Sirius shouted.   
  
"Standing in front of you." The figure replied. "You can call us Gotenks."   
  
"Fusion!" Sirius said, making the connection. "But how?"  
  
"No time to explain." Gotenks said. He stepped over to Hermes and glared menacingly, powering up a blinding white ki ball in his right hand.  
  
"Time to die, bastard." Gotenks said, and raised his hand, shouting. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm from behind and the ki ball dissipated into the air. Gotenks turned around and looked into the red eyes.   
  
"Natalie!" they cried. She just glared at them.  
  
"That is not my name, Saiya-jin." She snarled, tightening her grip.   
  
"What are you doing! Don't you see that this man is the one who did this to you?" Gotenks argued. "Why do you wish to save him?"  
  
"He made me what I am." She said, smirking evilly. "Why would I want to give this up?"  
  
"Because it isn't you!" the fused Saiya-jins argued.  
  
"It is!" Carina snapped, and hurled Gotenks across the room where Ceres was still lying on the ground. Gotenks skidded to a halt and charged the girl, slamming his elbow into her chest and knocking her backward. She cried out and did a back flip, landing on her feet again with her tail thrashing wildly behind her.  
  
"Nice." She said. "Very nice."  
  
Sirius took the opportunity while Carina was distracted and ran to Reena, who was standing against the wall, wide-eyed.  
  
"Reena come here." He said.  
  
"Iie. I don't want to move." She said. "I'm fine here."  
  
"Reena what is the matter?"  
  
"Sirius...why didn't you tell us?" she whispered.   
  
Sirius placed his hand on his forehead and rubbed it in frustration.  
  
"I couldn't." he replied. "I'm sorry. Not even Carina knew, and she is my sister."  
  
"You could have told us."  
  
"Reena please." He said, and grabbed her wrists. "You have to help too. Gotenks can't beat her alone."  
  
"Nobody will beat her. If you destroy what she has become, you will kill her. And you can't do that." Reena argued, her eyes welling up.   
  
"No, but I do have a plan. I'm not promising that it will work, but it is worth a try." Sirius said. "Do you still have the memory chip that the blue-haired woman gave to you?"  
  
"Memory chip..." Reena trailed off, placing her hands on her shoulders, and working her way down to her elbows. "It's in the breast plate of my armor!"  
  
"Transform into the armor then." Sirius urged.   
  
"I don't think it will work in here." She argued.   
  
"Reena just try!"   
  
"Hai." She said softly, and placed her two forefingers on her temple. With a high pitched scream, she cried, "Heneshin!"   
  
When the light died down, she was still in her body suit. Forcing back tears, she screamed again: "Heneshin!"   
  
Still nothing.   
  
Driven by enraged determination, Reena summoned her ki and concentrated. With all she had, she finally closed her eyes.  
  
"HENESHIN!"   
  
There was an explosion of light, and Sirius stumbled backward, struggling to keep his footing. As soon as the light dimmed, Reena was standing in her Sidra-jin armor. Her hair had returned to its original length, and she formed a smile on her face.  
  
Carina stopped fighting with Gotenks to look over and see Reena standing in the armor. She narrowed her eyes.  
  
"Reena..." she said in a low tone.  
  
Reena, hearing her name, spun around to see Carina glaring at her.   
  
"K...kuso...Sirius..." Reena whispered. "She saw me."  
  
Suddenly, Carina jumped into the air and landed six feet in front of Reena, who was frozen in fear.  
  
"That is not allowed." Carina spoke in an evil tone. "Are you trying to stop me?"  
  
"Iie...g...gomen nasai Carina-sama." She managed to spit out.  
  
"For some reason, I don't believe you." Carina said, and a light appeared in her hand, pulsating with energy.   
  
Sirius gritted his teeth and charged Carina, slamming his fist into her side and pinning her to the ground.  
  
"Reena!" Sirius shouted.   
  
Reena nodded and fumbled nervously with the symbol on her armor. She placed her hand on top and twisted, managing to remove the medallion from its resting place on the breastplate. As she did this, a tiny little microchip fell out into her hand. Reena grabbed it and popped the medallion back into place and looked down at Carina, who was struggling.   
  
Unexpectedly, there was a flash of light and Sirius was knocked onto his back as a ki blast ripped through his chest. Carina jumped up and towered over him.  
  
"NO!" Reena screamed.   
  
Gotenks looked on in horror as Sirius was sent flying, blood pouring out of the gaping wound in his chest. He growled and crouched onto the ground, preparing to jump into the air. Just then, something him on the back and he was sent stumbling forward. He placed his hands in front of him and sprung back onto his feet, spinning around in the process. Before him stood the detested blonde-haired Sidra-jin who's name Gotenks had grown to loathe. Orion.  
  
Without another word, Orion pounced on Gotenks and grabbed his throat.   
  
"Not this time, kisama." Gotenks said, and brought his feet up to Orion's chest, ripping him off and sending him backward. Orion stopped himself just before he hit the wall.   
  
"We're going to make sure you die this time." Gotenks said. He immediately went super Saiya-jin, and his black/purple hair exploded into fiery yellow and his eyes changed to a blue/green color. Just as he did this, Hermes stood, who had been on the floor about ten feet away from the two.   
  
"I do not suggest killing this warrior." He said, brushing himself off. "Carina will be very upset if you do."  
  
"Fuck you!" Gotenks shouted, and threw a ki blast at Hermes. He put up a ki shield and the blast bounced off harmlessly.   
  
Orion jumped into the air and brought his elbow down into Gotenks' throat, causing the fused Saiya-jin to sputter and fall backward, barely managing to catch himself before he fell onto his back completely.   
  
"Why are you fighting us?" Gotenks snarled viciously. "I thought you wanted to save her." He said, and pointed his finger in Carina's direction, who still stood over Sirius.   
  
"You attacked my mate." Orion growled.  
  
"YOUR mate!?" Gotenks cried.   
  
"That is what I said." He replied.   
  
Gotenks glared icily at Hermes, and then back at Orion.  
  
  
Sirius coughed up a mouthful of blood onto the black, cold floor. He struggled to lift himself, but the pain was so severe that his muscles would contract and send him back to the floor.   
  
Reena held her hands up to her mouth, trembling, and tried to keep control of her own body. She was filled with fear and anger.   
  
"How dare you!" she cried, her voice filled with bitterness. "How could you attack and kill your own brother!"  
  
Carina turned to look at Reena, her face twisted into a scowl.   
  
"I have no brother you foolish girl." She said coldly.   
  
"Hermes said it himself!" Reena argued sharply. "The first born!"  
  
Carina looked down at Sirius, whose ki was fading at a rapid rate, and stared.  
  
"Look at him! Look what you've done!" Reena continued. Carina's ki jumped and she spun around.  
  
"SHUT UP!" she cried, putting her hands on Reena's shoulders and shoving her forcefully against the wall. She then pounced on the already stunned girl and grabbed her by the neck, slamming her torso into the ground. Reena cried out and struggled to breathe as Carina viciously choked her.   
  
The Sidra-jin girl remembered the microchip in her palm and found the strength to lift her arm up slowly and unsteadily as Carina lifted her neck and slammed her head into the ground again.  
  
"Please let this work..." Reena whispered to herself as she pressed her hand onto the side of Carina's forehead. Carina's eyes widened and she jumped back, shrieking. Her body fell to the ground and her eyes dilated as her body struggled to resist the wave impulses that flooded her brain.   
  
  
Gotenks and Orion, who had been fighting furiously, froze in action when they heard the cry. Realizing what was going on, Gotenks slammed his fist into Orion's face while he was distracted. Orion jumped up and landed on his feet, still in a defensive position, as he watched Carina fall to the ground.   
  
"What are you looking at!" Gotenks shouted, and sent a weak ki blast at the blonde warrior. Orion turned to Gotenks and deflected the blast, sending it into the ceiling where it was absorbed.  
  
"You are responsible for this, aren't you!" Orion hissed, pouncing on Gotenks and sending his fist into his chest. Gotenks freed himself from Orion's grip and barely managed to roll away as Orion's fist flew down, making contact with the floor, causing the skin around his knuckles to split and bleed. Cursing, Orion pulled his hand back up and ki blasted Gotenks.   
  
"You piece of trash, how can you call yourself a warrior, much less her mate!" Gotenks mocked, deflecting the blast with ease.   
  
  
Carina's red eyes slowly faded into their original green color as she lay on the stone floor, looking up at the ceiling with a blank expression on her face.   
  
Reena forced herself up and crawled toward Sirius, who was barely alive.  
  
"Sirius!" she cried. "Don't worry, I'll help you." She placed her hand on his forehead.  
  
"Iie." Sirius said weakly.   
  
"Hai. Stop being stubborn." She said, and placed her other hand on his chest over the wound. She closed her eyes and her body began to glow dully as tiny beads of light flowed through her arms, to her hands, and onto Sirius.   
  
Wide-eyed, the warrior held his breath as the little points of light surrounded him. Reena opened her eyes and they condensed over top of the hole in his chest. Then, before his eyes, his body healed itself and he was back to normal, save the hole in his bodysuit. He sat up shakily and looked at Reena.  
  
"You never told me you could do that." He said, still shocked.  
  
"You never asked, Sirius." Reena replied. "Look at her. Do you think it is working?"  
  
Sirius looked at Carina, who was still on her back, facing the ceiling. Then, in the distance, he saw Orion slam Gotenks into the wall. He then followed with a sharp punch to the jaw and another to the chest. Gotenks bent over and coughed dryly. Seizing the opportunity, Orion stopped, and turned, facing the girl on the floor.   
  
Sirius moved forward and grabbed Carina's arm, pulling her toward him and Reena before anyone else could get the chance.   
  
"What are you doing?" Orion asked, appearing suddenly in front of the two guardian senshi.   
  
"We're protecting her." Sirius answered defensively. Though he knew that Orion was not so much evil by heart as he was now, he wasn't entirely under his own power.   
  
"From who, me?" he asked.  
  
"Leave." Reena said. "Go back to what you were doing."  
  
Orion glared menacingly at her and brought his hand back, about to strike her, when Gotenks grabbed his arm and flipped him backward over his head.   
  
Reena gasped, though in relief, and sank to the floor.   
  
Orion regained his balance and threw a ki blast in Gotenks' direction. Gotenks just put up a ki shield and managed to deflect it with no problems.   
  
All of the sudden, an enormous shock wave passed through the room, knocking everyone standing onto the ground.   
  
Taken by surprise, Gotenks lifted his head to see Hermes hovering a few feet in the air, his face twisted into a furious expression.  
  
"I've had it with playing around." He growled. "Now you die." 


	26. Chapter 26

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 26 - Last Chance  
  
  
Everyone with the exception of Carina and Ceres looked at Hermes with shocked expressions.  
  
Sirius stood up and grabbed Reena's arm, jerking her onto her feet as well. Gotenks stood in a defensive crouch, and Orion was on the side with his arms crossed. They all locked their eyes onto the floating form.   
  
"You stupid weaklings...I should have done this in the first place." Hermes said. "All I have to do is harness the power of that stupid girl and I'll be rid of you all, including her!"  
  
"No!" Gotenks shouted, crouching even lower, about to strike. Orion's eyes widened momentarily and then narrowed as he glared at Hermes. Reena and Sirius stood in front of Carina with their arms crossed protectively.   
  
"You can't stop me." Hermes said in a low, lethal tone. He looked over at Orion. "And you...don't you realize that the only reason you're alive is because of me? I can destroy you in an instant."  
  
Orion growled like a furious animal and his ki jumped.  
  
"That's right. I preserved your body and spirit, but not your free will. Though I had allowed you to think for yourself, I can remove that privilege from your mind. In other words, I can control you." He said, and his mouth upturned into an evil smile.  
  
Gotenks looked over at Orion, who was still snarling at Hermes.  
  
"IF YOU DO ANYTHING TO HER I'LL-" Orion was cut off as his body slammed onto the ground.   
  
Gotenks sensed his ki dropping and immediately realized what was happening. However he was torn between saving him, or watching the pitiful warrior die.  
  
"No!" Reena cried. "Sirius, you can't let Hermes kill him!"   
  
"There's nothing I can do." He replied. "Protecting my sister is more important than saving him."  
  
"Sirius!" she hissed. "Carina will be fine! Please..."  
  
Sirius looked into Reena's eyes and shook his head.  
  
"Gotenks won't save him! He hates Orion!" she cried, and then fell to the floor.   
  
  
Gotenks watched, frozen in fear, as the life drained from Orion's body. He was pinned to the floor by some invisible force and he struggled to breathe as his ki continued to drop.   
  
Suddenly, Gotenks' ki made an enormous leap and he was hit with the urge to stop these series of events. He jumped into the air and tried to send his fist into Hermes' face, but the invisible wall once again stopped him. Cursing loudly, he fell back. He had to resort to ki attacks.  
  
He moved into the signature position and brought his two hands down by his side. He concentrated a large amount of ki into his hands, making sure not to feed too much power into the blast or he would lose control and run the risk of killing everyone in the room.  
  
"Ka...me...ha...me....HA!" he shouted, and let lose the fury. Hermes had very little time to react as the massive blast tore through his invisible shield and slammed into his body, sending him into the far wall with a loud thud. As soon as he impacted, Orion's ki came to a standstill and rose slightly once again.   
  
Reena and Sirius were in utter shock with their mouths agape and their eyes wide.   
  
Orion sprang to his feet and his ki rose sharply again as he powered a ki blast of his own.   
  
Hermes peeled his burnt body off of the wall and landed on the ground. As he walked toward Gotenks and Orion, he produced an object in his hands, holding it up so that the light glinted off of its surface. It was a round, red object that resembled a marble. Inside there was a bright, pulsating mass of energy that resembled a spiral galaxy of the tiniest kind. Immediately, Orion dropped his ki blast.   
  
"This..." he started, "is your essence, Orion."  
  
He then produced another tiny object in his hands. This one was white with a golden center.   
  
"And this is hers." He said, and gestured over to Carina. "All I have to do is crush them, and you both will experience the most mind-numbing pain known to you, before fading from existence completely."  
  
Orion jumped back and Gotenks kept his eyes on Hermes, focusing on the tiny objects he held in his hands.   
  
"When your princess achieves the heightened state, I can channel that into this." He said, and held his palm flat, the gold and white ball resting in the center of his hand. "After that, I will have no use for her."  
  
"That's why you preserved them!" Gotenks growled. "Then why did you want offspring?"  
  
"I studied their anatomy." Hermes replied. His eyes reflected an evil, insane glint. "You have no idea of the level of power that a child would yield, should it be produced by them."  
  
"Just so you could take it as your own!" Gotenks retorted. "You're nothing but a sick, power-hungry madman. No wonder they shunned you on the planet."  
  
"SILENCE YOU FOOL!" Hermes hissed. "They were afraid of me. Reasonably so, seeing as I am responsible for the deaths of hundreds of millions of people."  
  
"You're insane." Gotenks growled.   
  
"You could call it that. But if you had the opportunity to rule the galaxy, and even the universe, using only two people, wouldn't you take it?"   
  
"People like you always meet your fate at the hands of justice, Hermes. If not by us, then by someone else, just like us." Gotenks threatened, smirking.  
  
Hermes produced an amused grin and snickered slightly.  
  
"Yes, I am trembling with fear, Saiya-jin."  
  
"You should be."  
  
Gotenks and Orion turned around in shock to see Carina standing upright with her hands clenched by her side as she had a deadly look in her eyes, which were now green. Her brown hair was still streaked with silver, and fell just to the inward curve of her waist.   
  
"Impossible!" Hermes cried, outraged.  
  
"Nothing is impossible. A scientist such as yourself should be familiar with that concept." She spoke, her voice low and dangerous.   
  
"How are you able to think for yourself??" Hermes inquired.  
  
Carina pointed to her forehead, smirking. Everyone noticed the microchip, which rested on her left temple.   
  
"Even the greatest will fall." She spoke. "Without control over my mind, you can't harness my power, or even try to control it. You should have taken this into account. Maybe you aren't as smart as you make yourself out to be."  
  
"Onore!" Hermes cried, and then raced toward her, his fists ready. Gotenks and Orion both jumped in his way, simultaneously slamming their fists into his face, driving him backward.   
  
  
Sirius pulled on Reena's arm and looked at her.   
  
"Reena, go tend to Ceres. We will need all the help we can get." He ordered. Reena looked at Ceres who was still lying in the corner, and nodded, racing over to her.  
  
She placed her hand on Ceres' forehead and sighed in relief, locating a weak but prevalent ki.   
  
"She's still alive, thank Kami." She said. She looked down at Ceres' bruised throat and noted the problem. Her airway had collapsed and she didn't have any oxygen to her cells. She could be inches away from death.   
  
In a panic, Reena enclosed Reena's neck with her hands and produced a soft, yellow-white glow.   
  
"Wake up Ceres." She spoke as she continued to channel her own ki onto the body of her friend, growing dangerously weak by the second. Finally, Ceres' inhaled sharply and her lungs breathed life into her body. Reena smiled happily and shakily drew back. Though she was very grateful for her friend, she had drained her ki below the dangerous point already. She had never healed two people within the short time frame that she had done this time.   
  
Ceres' eyes fluttered open and she forced herself up onto her elbows, her senses slowly bringing her back to reality.  
  
"Kuso...where am I?" she asked.  
  
"Andromeda. Remember..." Reena spoke, hoping that she hadn't erased Ceres' memory by mistake, because she was capable of that as well.   
  
"Andromeda..." Ceres trailed off. Suddenly, it hit her. "Andromeda! Carina! Hermes!" she said, taking in another deep breath as her memory was revived.   
  
"Ceres you have to help us." Reena urged.  
  
"Hai." Ceres said, and stood up. Reena stood as well, and Sirius ran over to them.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked Ceres. The blonde-haired female just nodded as she looked at Carina, who was facing Hermes in a challenging stance.  
  
  
"Do you think you can win?" Carina asked calmly but defiantly as Hermes brought his body off of the ground once again.  
  
"One...by...one..." he said, and held up the scarlet marble in his hands. Just then, the marble rose above his palm and shot toward Carina, who reached her arm out and grabbed it in the blink of an eye. Hermes looked at her with wide-eyed shock.   
  
"This doesn't belong to you." She said.   
  
Hermes then realized the flaw in his plan. By allowing her access to her hidden power, he had unlocked all of her abilities that had been previously hidden within her. Telekinesis, mind-reading, and even the ability to lock onto others.   
  
"Damn you, bitch!" Hermes spat. "We'll see who has the upper hand in the end!"  
  
He looked at the object on her temple and realized that if he destroyed it, she would be within his power again. Smirking, he stood upright and folded his arms.  
  
"Don't you want to power up first?" he challenged. "You've never experienced it before."  
  
Carina's eyes narrowed and her tail twitched.   
  
"Iie...I wish to kill you in the old fashioned way." She said, holding up her two fists into the air.   
  
With a cry, she jumped into the air and pounced on top of Hermes, sending the both of them flying into the wall with a loud thud. She attacked him in a way similar to how she had attacked Reena earlier. She brought her hands up and wrapped them around his neck, glaring into his eyes as he ki rose with her anger. Her aura had Hermes pinned to the ground as she choked him.  
  
"How does it feel!" she cried, tightening her grip. Hermes shouted something at her and raised his hand, striking her in the face.   
  
Temporarily stunned, Carina's grip loosened. Her aura exploded again and pinned him to the ground once more. However, he was smirking.   
  
"What's so...fun...ny..." Carina trailed off as her eyes dilated again. He then held up his hand. In his palm, there was a small object. The microchip.   
  
"No!" Gotenks shouted. Hermes enclosed the device in his hands and crushed it, sending tiny pieces of metal and sparks to the ground. He then threw Carina's body off of his with such force that she hit the ground and skidded for about ten feet before coming to a standstill at the feet of Orion and Gotenks.   
  
"Nice try." He said, facing the warriors. "But you can't outsmart me. Even with the increase in power, she was still too stupid to realize that attacking me head on put her in jeopardy. And now..." he continued, "she has lost her last chance, and so have you." 


	27. Chapter 27

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 27 - Shiroi no Tenshi   
  
  
Gotenks bent down and looked at Carina cautiously. She was seemingly conscious, but her eyes were flat and emotionless, and her face was contorted into a blank stare. Then, her eyes faded into the same red color that they had been before, and she blinked. Gotenks jumped back a couple of steps as Hermes laughed.  
  
"Ah, the moment you've all been waiting for." He said, holding the Carina's stone up to eye level.   
  
"STOP!" came a cry from the other side of the room. Hermes raised an eyebrow and looked to see Sirius step forward. "Don't you dare."  
  
"Come and stop me, prince." Hermes mocked.   
  
"Even if she wanted to, she could not transform under your power." He said. "Because your intentions are not pure."  
  
"Purity does not matter." Hermes argued.  
  
"Yes it does! Why do you think it's called Shiroi no Tenshi, the white angel??" Sirius barked. "Because you have to have a pure heart to achieve it!"  
  
"She is in her pure form, however." Hermes countered.  
  
"Form, yes, but not mind." Sirius argued.  
  
Hermes looked at Sirius in silence for a few seconds before growing enraged.  
  
"Do not challenge me!" he hissed, extending his hand and knocking Sirius backward telekinetically.   
  
"If...you try to do it..." Sirius said, sitting up. "You will kill her before she can achieve that status."  
  
"Even so, I will still have preserved that power."   
  
  
Carina, finally having achieved total consciousness, stoop up slowly, blinking a few more times. She then held out her palm and studied the object in the middle: the red stone. Orion's stone.   
  
Orion noticed her movements and looked down at her.   
  
"Carina...what do you have?" he whispered to her. She turned around with a curious expression and held up the stone. He stared at it, holding up his hand to take it. As soon as his hand was on top of hers, a ki blast slammed into the two of them, tearing them apart and sending the stone flying.  
  
Everything traveled in slow motion as the delicate stone plummeted toward the hard, cold floor. Orion fell backward, his eyes widening, and barely managed to catch himself with his hands.  
  
Carina was also knocked backward and twisted around from the impact before slamming onto the floor. She tried to jump up, but she was pinned by her own ki, obviously Hermes' doing.  
  
Just as the stone was about to crash into the floor and shatter into thousands of tiny, glittering pieces, a hand slipped under it and broke the fall, enclosing around it protectively.   
  
Everyone looked up, expecting to see Gotenks, but instead, Trunks landed on his side, stone in hand, while Goten flew in the opposite direction.  
  
"W...what happened?" Reena whispered. "They broke apart!"  
  
Hermes laughed and floated to the ground while Trunks winced in pain, struggling to get up.   
  
Reena looked at him with fear in her eyes. Not only had Gotenks split apart, but Trunks had broken his shoulder from the fall. She then scanned the area for Goten, and found him in near the left wall, supporting himself with his elbows as he listed his torso off of the ground.  
  
"What are you doing! Get up!" she cried, running toward Goten. Hermes stepped in the way and she slammed into his chest, bouncing off and landing on her backside.   
  
"Reena...little Reena..." he mocked, taking a step toward her. She scooted back in fear, keeping her legs to her chest as a form of protection. "How would you like to be the...motivation...for your princess over there?" he asked.  
  
"M...motivation?" Reena stammered.   
  
"That's right." Hermes said venomously. "We just put your life in danger, Carina gets mad, and there you have it. What do you say?"  
  
Reena gulped and tried to scoot further back, but he held her in place with his mind.  
  
Goten stood up shakily and saw Hermes towering over Reena, who seemed to be frozen in her tracks with a look of terror on her face. Jumping up, Goten raced over to the frightened girl and stood in front of her.  
  
"Leave her out of it." He said, bringing his hands above his waist in anticipation.   
  
"Tell me Saiya-jin..." Hermes started, noting Goten's tail. "Do you know what it feels like to lose control of your own ki and have it burn you alive?"  
  
Goten paled and broke out in a nervous sweat as he forced himself to stand.  
  
"N...no..." Goten said meekly.  
  
"Do you want to become accustomed to the sensation?"   
  
Goten took a few steps back, drawing closer to Reena.   
  
"Then I suggest you get out of my way." Hermes ordered.  
  
Goten stood, unmoving. Even though his instincts told him to run, since his own ki was weakened, but his heart told him to stay and protect Reena.   
  
Growing impatient, Hermes growled at Goten and powered a ki blast in his hand. Goten, still not moving, ignited a ki shield in front of his body as well as Reena's.   
  
  
Sirius turned to Ceres, who was standing next to him.  
  
"Ceres...can you still lock onto his ki?" he asked.  
  
"Iie...I am not strong enough to do so, and his ki is higher than mine." She replied.  
  
"If you channel it through mine, will it work?" he suggested.  
  
Ceres paused for a few seconds and spoke.   
  
"I don't know, I've never tried it before." She said. "What do you want to do?"  
  
"You need to diminish all control of his body so that the others can attack." He replied.   
  
"It is certainly worth a try." Ceres said, and placed her hand on his shoulder. "This may or may not hurt, depending on whether you feel the same effects I do."  
  
Sirius nodded and closed his eyes, trying to imagine just hot much it would hurt. Ceres did the same, and concentrated to the silhouette of Hermes that burned in her retinas.  
  
  
Hermes could feel the familiar sensation of invasion in the back of his mind, and knew that someone was trying to lock onto him. His eyes scanned the room and stopped when he focused on her form.   
  
  
"Sirius..." she whispered shakily, her eyes still closed. "I think he sees us. I can translate some of the brainwaves."  
  
"Just keep it up, Ceres." He said, and increased his ki to help her. Finally, he was hit with a terrible, agonizing pain in his head. He knew that Ceres had most likely accomplished her goal.  
  
  
Hermes cursed as the sensation grew in intensity until he could barely keep his consciousness. Those damned Sidra-jin guardians were trying to take control of him. Finally, after a few more seconds, his arms dropped and his body hung in the air.  
  
  
Goten watched in confusion as Hermes' body went limp, yet he still remained standing.   
  
"Goten!" Reena cried, leaping to her feet. "Ceres is doing it again!"  
  
"Doing what?" Goten questioned, his voice heavy with perplexity.  
  
"She is controlling his ki! Hurry and attack him!" she said, and then threw a ki blast at Hermes. It burned into his chest but did not do major damage. Goten then made the connection and powered up a blast of his own.   
  
  
Trunks had managed to pull his body off of his now limp shoulder, holding the stone in his left hand while his right hand dangled to the side. He looked in Sirius and Ceres' direction, and noted that they were preoccupied, and then looked at Orion, who was standing next to Carina. They both had blank expressions on their faces. Then, he looked at Goten, who was right about to hurl a blast into Hermes' chest. He immediately raced over to his friend.  
  
"Goten!" Trunks cried. "What's going on?"  
  
"Hermes lost control of his body again, and we have to kill him before he regains it." He replied.   
  
Trunks nodded, obviously in comprehension. However, when he went to power a ki blast, he realized that he was still holding Orion's stone in his hand. He couldn't place it in his right hand, because it was limp, and he didn't have any pockets. He certainly wasn't going to put it on the ground. He then saw the glimmer of something else in the distance. Something gold.   
  
"Carina's stone..." he whispered to himself, and turned to Goten. "You and Reena take care of this, I'll be right back." He said, and then took off.   
  
He landed next to the stone, which was lying on the ground, surrounded by a ki bubble. He reached down to grab it, but the ki bubble surrounded it protectively like steel armor.  
  
"Shit!" he cried, and placed Orion's stone on the ground. He reached for Carina's stone again, trying to push back the miniature ki shield with one of his own. Still, no success.   
  
Trunks was about to give up when the shield started to flicker, and finally disappeared completely. Looking at Hermes, he realized that it was probably because he was no longer in control. Grabbing both stones, Trunks raced to the other side of the dark, cubic room, near Sirius and Ceres.   
  
  
Reena and Goten both had their respective ki blasts in their hands and they held them next to each other.  
  
"Together?" she said, looking at Goten.  
  
"Together." Goten replied. They both aimed at Hermes with deadly accuracy.   
  
Just as they were about to fire, an elbow slammed into the back of Goten's head and he flew forward, landing on the stone floor and skidding to a halt, unmoving. His ki immediately dropped to about a level of five and then stopped. Reena, horrified, turned to see Carina standing extremely close to her with an evil smirk on her face.  
  
"Carina!" Reena cried, dropping her blast. "Why did you attack Goten?"  
  
"I can't allow him to kill Hermes...it's against the rules." She said. "Besides, if you do, what will come of me?"  
  
"You will still live. Your life is preserved in the stone." Reena said nervously. "Carina listen to me. Hermes is controlling you and making you do things that you normally wouldn't do."  
  
"Like...this?" Carina said, and punched Reena in the chest, sending her flying backward toward Goten. Reena stopped herself and stepped forward again, doubled over and coughing.  
  
"C...Carina...please don't...let him control..." Reena trailed off, and finally coughed up a small amount of blood.  
  
"Now, Reena, I didn't hit you that hard. Have you grown weaker?" Carina mocked.   
  
"No, Carina!" Reena said angrily, a trail of blood running down her chin. "Hermes is going to kill you! He only keeps you alive so that he can preserve your ki for his own use! After he does this, he will have no use for you, or Orion!"  
  
Carina narrowed her eyes.  
  
"He wouldn't do that." She said.   
  
"He would. Do you know why he preserved Orion?" Reena continued. "Do you?"  
  
"So that I would have a mate." Carina replied simply, crossing her arms.  
  
"Right...so that you would produce offspring." Reena answered, growing more determined by the minute. "Do you know why he wants you to have children? So that he can steal them from you!"   
  
"Liar!" Carina cried angrily, and pounced on top of Reena, sending them both tumbling toward the wall. About halfway there, Carina stopped and pinned Reena to the ground. "How dare you make those accusations!"  
  
"He said it so himself." Reena explained. "While you were unconscious. Carina don't let him do this to you! He took away everything that you were, and everything that you were to become."  
  
Carina's eyes momentarily flashed green and her face softened, but they regained their unnatural red color and she grimaced angrily again.  
  
"This is what I am." Carina said.   
  
"No..." Reena continued to challenge. "He has changed time. These Saiya-jins...they are your friends. The come from the time that you used to live in. You were in love, Carina. But now, because of Hermes, you have no memory of it."  
  
Carina punched Reena in the face, her face filled with bitterness.  
  
"That's not true!" she cried.   
  
"It is true! Turn around and look at that Saiya-jin!" Reena said, looking at Trunks, who had his eyes on them. "Look into his eyes!"  
  
Carina did not move, she only continued to glare at Reena.  
  
"No." she hissed.  
  
"Just do it. Look at him."  
  
Carina slowly and reluctantly turned her head. As they locked eyes, Carina felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. The blue eyes were so calming and so sincere. Carina's red eyes welled up with tears as she looked at him.  
  
"Now do you realize that I was telling the truth?" Reena asked. "Hermes wants to kill him!"  
  
"No!" Carina cried, jumping off of Reena and standing on unsteady legs. She placed her hands on her knees and tried to stay balanced. Reena sat up and looked at the distressed girl. She was torn between two identities.   
  
"Don't let Hermes kill the Saiya-jin." Reena urged. "Stop him. Don't let him control you anymore."  
  
Carina continued to tremble and look into the blue eyes of Trunks, who was standing across the enormous room. Her eyes were flooded and were no longer able to contain the tears as they slowly dripped down the side of her face and coming to a stop on the underside of her chin, where they hung in the air.   
  
"How...how do I stop him?" Carina whispered. "What can I do?"  
  
"Become the legend." Reena replied.   
  
"I...I don't know how." Carina said, and turned to Reena. The purple-haired girl opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by a powerful ki blast through her chest. Carina shrieked and spun around to see Orion standing over her. His eyes had now become the fiery red color that she had possessed.  
  
"Don't listen to her." He said. "She is trying to save herself."  
  
Carina turned back to Reena and screamed. The girl was lying in a puddle of her own blood, just as Sirius had been. But now, there was nobody to heal Reena, because the healer was Reena herself. She dropped to her knees and took Reena's lifeless body into her arms.  
  
"No! Reena don't let go!" she cried. "You saved me! I will destroy Hermes and make everything right again! Reena..." she trailed off. She closed her eyes and screamed.   
  
Her screams were brought to a standstill, however, as Orion grabbed her by the shoulder and jerked her to her feet.   
  
"You pathetic little traitor!" he hissed. "How dare you listen to her foolish words over mine??"  
  
"Y...yours?" Carina stammered, still trying to choke back tears of grief and horror. "But Orion-"  
  
"Orion is dead. I had to...borrow his body." He spoke. Carina's eyes widened in revulsion.  
  
"Hermes..." she trailed off.   
  
"That's right, it's me. I have to say I don't know why I didn't make this choice sooner...this body is more powerful than I had imagined."  
  
"Bring him back! Bring Orion back!" Carina cried, and connected her fist to his chest. However, Orion/Hermes grabbed her wrist and twisted it into a painful position.   
  
"I told you, he is dead." He replied.  
  
  
Ceres recoiled in pain and fell backward, losing her grip on Sirius' shoulder.   
  
"Ceres!" Sirius cried. "What happened?"  
  
"Hermes...I...can't control him. There is no ki." She stammered.   
  
Sirius turned around and looked at the limp body of Hermes, lying flat on the floor. He moved his eyes further past that and saw Orion grabbing Carina by the throat and lifting her into the air. He realized what had happened and cursed loudly.  
  
"Kuso, Ceres!" he shouted. "He switched bodies!"  
  
"That's impossible!" Ceres cried in disbelief. "But..."  
  
"But nothing. He did it." Sirius replied. Suddenly, there was a crunching sound, and they both turned to see Trunks. At his feet, there were thousands of tiny shards...  
  
"Orion's stone." Ceres said, and then looked at Orion. He remained unfazed.   
  
"Trunks it's useless! He's no longer Orion." Sirius said. He saw that Trunks also had Carina's stone in his hand. "Break it."  
  
"What?" Trunks asked, looking at Sirius in skepticism.   
  
"You heard me." Sirius said. "Break Carina's stone."  
  
"Are you crazy?? She'll die!" Trunks said, outraged.  
  
"No she won't. Just trust me." Sirius argued. Trunks looked at Sirius suspiciously for a few seconds of silence and brought the white and gold crystal into his palm, looking down at it. Closing his eyes, he brought his hand back and threw the stone at the ground with all of his strength. Shattering on impact, the crystal exploded into hundreds of points of light before spreading out and floating to the ceiling.  
  
The three warriors all looked over at Carina, who was still in Orion/Hermes' grip. She was still alive.   
  
  
Carina gasped in pain as Orion/Hermes punched her in the chest while holding her neck in his arms.   
  
"That one is for turning against me." He said, smiling as he got some sick pleasure out of hitting her. He then punched her again. "And that one is for doing it again."  
  
Carina shuddered as pain racked her body. Her red eyes were swollen slightly from crying and her cheeks were flushed. Suddenly, she started to see stars. Convinced that she was about to black out, she closed her eyes. However, she remained conscious. Opening her eyes again, she saw the tiny stars of light surround her body, absorbing into her skin. She felt a warm sensation all over and felt her ki rise. In fact, it rose with such east that Carina had to convince herself that she was not in a dream.   
  
Orion/Hermes was thrown back by sharp the increase in her ki and produced a look of rage as he stood up again. Carina closed her eyes momentarily and then opened them to reveal the emerald green color that was hers.   
  
"Now what!?" Orion/Hermes shouted, looking around the room. He spotted the three warriors in the distance. They were the ones responsible for this turn in events. He jumped up and started to move toward them, but he was stopped when he slammed into an invisible wall. Orion/Hermes turned around to see Carina, standing upright, with her hand above her head, obviously having generated the forcefield.   
  
Carina's green eyes looked into the red eyes of Orion/Hermes and she remained silent and still. Pinning Orion/Hermes to the floor with the same invisible force, Carina turned and looked down at Reena's body. The puddle of blood around it had grown to twice its size and it shone in the light of Carina's ki. She then turned back to Orion/Hermes.  
  
"You wanted to see the show." She spoke, her voice unnaturally calm and steady. "I will allow you that one final privilege before you cease to see forever."  
  
Orion/Hermes glared at her and made several attempts to move, but he was pinned.  
  
"You cannot kill me. I am in his body." Orion/Hermes argued.  
  
"Orion is dead." Carina said. "Now it's your turn."  
  
Her ki flared again and expanded, filling the entirety of the vast, dark room with its brilliant white light. Everything froze in time, for just a moment, and then it was over, and the light slowly faded until it surrounded only her.  
  
Orion/Hermes stared in disbelief at the sight before him. Carina was standing perfectly still, with a calm, serene expression on her face. Her aura had changed from gold to a soft white. Her brown hair was now streaked with gold, and it draped over her shoulders, bouncing off of the white wings that extended from her back. But most of all, her green eyes pierced into Orion/Hermes' mind.  
  
"Sh...Shiroi no Tenshi..." Orion/Hermes said, blinking. That was the last thought to ever pass through his mind.  
  
Carina had him by the neck and instantaneously lowered his ki and crushed the life out of him. When he was dead, she hurled him across the room. His body hit the wall with a sick crunching sound of bones breaking before sliding down the wall and slumping down onto the floor.   
  
Turning to Reena again, she knelt onto her knees and placed her hand on Reena's forehead. Immediately, Reena opened her eyes as the gaping hole in her chest healed, leaving behind no scars. The only evidence that she had been hit was the hole in her bodysuit.  
  
"Carina..." she spoke, her eyes wide in amazement. Carina just turned and looked at Goten's limp form, which was sprawled on the ground twenty feet away. She ran over to him and healed him as well. His neck realigned itself and his ki jumped back up to its stationary level. Goten stood up next to Reena, who had joined the two, and they both looked at the winged girl.  
  
"Who are you?" Goten asked.   
  
Carina smiled at him.  
  
"Son Goten, I am Shiroi no Tenshi, the white angel." 


	28. Chapter 28

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 28 - Great Escape  
  
  
Carina lost her balance temporarily as the room started to shake violently. Everyone else fell as well, and pieces of the ceiling started to fall.   
  
"What's happening??" Reena cried, clinging to Goten.   
  
"The room is breaking apart." Carina spoke, her eyes filled with deep concern as she tried to formulate a plan.  
  
"We don't even have our pressurized suits!" Ceres cried. "Andromeda has no atmosphere."  
  
"We're not on Andromeda." Carina replied. "We're in some kind of sub-dimension of space-time."  
  
"But I thought..." Reena trailed off.  
  
"Andromeda was just the port. Hermes needed a base of a certain mass in order to sustain it." Carina explained, and looked to the ceiling.   
  
"When did she get so smart?" Trunks whispered to Sirius. Sirius just shrugged.   
  
Carina turned to Reena and then to Sirius and Ceres.  
  
"You three." She said. "You can create your own atmosphere using a ki shield. Do it now."  
  
The three guardians lit up and created their own respective shields about five feet in diameter.   
  
"What about us?" Goten asked in a panic. Before Carina could answer, Reena grabbed him and held his body close to hers, locking his ki onto hers and causing the shield to grow, encircling the both of them. Ceres did the same with the bewildered Trunks. Carina finally formed her own protective encasement.   
  
"What is going to happen?" Reena asked.   
  
"We're going to be sucked into a void." Carina replied. "Don't panic or you will lose your safeguard."   
  
The room continued to collapse, imploding inward as chunks of stone were pulled inward to a core. Even Orion's body was pulled from the floor and literally ripped to shreds from the force of the pull. Carina closed her eyes and looked away while the others watched the grisly scene with horrified expressions on their faces.  
  
"That is what will happen to you if you don't keep those up." Carina said, pointing to Reena ad Goten's shield.   
  
The energy and mass of the core grew, radiating black energy as it pulsated.  
  
"It's a black hole!" Reena shrieked. "We're going to be pulled in!"  
  
Carina looked over at the black hole with a horror-struck expression.   
  
  
  
Finally, the room broke apart completely and disappeared into the core of the black hole, which continued to grow in size.  
  
"That's impossible. How can a black hole form from this room alone??" Ceres cried. However, her voice was only heard by Trunks and herself, since sound waves do not travel in voids. Carina looked at the three guardians and started to shout at them, but they couldn't hear her.  
  
"Get away!" she shrieked. The others looked at her, wide-eyed. "Get away from here!"   
  
Suddenly, an enormous hand of black lightning rose and appeared behind Carina, who was too busy shouting at the others to notice it. Reena's eyes widened and she screamed, pointing at the mass of energy. Carina looked at Reena in confusion and started to turn her head slowly. However, before she could see what it was, the hand-like darkness slammed into her and enclosed her body. Carina's face twisted into an expression of pain and terror before she was pulled into the black hole, her light disappearing completely.   
  
"NO!" Trunks cried, trying to break free from his shield and follow, but Ceres held him in place.  
  
"Don't try to follow her, you will die too!" she said.   
  
"Let me go!" Trunks cried. "I'm tired of watching helplessly!"  
  
"There is nothing you can do for her, Saiya-jin." Ceres said solemnly.   
  
  
Carina floated in the endless darkness, her body suspended and inert. The white wings on her back had fallen limp and hung lifelessly underneath her.  
  
"What a shame to see such a great power in the hands of such an incompetent combatant."   
  
"You Sidra-jins never die." Carina's voice spoke, though her body remained unconscious. "When will you learn that taking away the essence of this world will not grant you unlimited power?"  
  
"You, Shiroi no Tenshi, represent everything I have grown to hate. Light, purity, even justification. It is useless in the end. All that matters is that I come out the winner, and you re the loser. When I remove you from existence, I will have no more obstacles."  
  
"You can kill the body, but you can't kill the soul." Carina replied. Suddenly, in a flash of light, she was awake again, and her eyes fluttered open.   
  
"You are a fool to stand against me. Don't you know that a black hole has such a strong gravitational pull that no force can escape...not even light."   
  
"I would be a fool to give up. You cannot win with such a dark, negative heart and mind." Carina replied. Her hair draped behind her back and fell forward down her shoulders. She was covered in nothing more than a simple blue bodysuit; her legs and arms were bare.   
  
"You are pathetic! It amuses me to see you struggle."  
  
Carina narrowed her eyes.   
  
"That's right. You grow angry because you know you fall short. Just give up."  
  
"NO!" Carina shouted. "If I gave up I would be letting this entire world down! And I would never...ever submit to you."  
  
"We'll see about that."   
  
Then, a bolt of black lightning formed and shot into Carina, knocking her backward. It surrounded her form and sent terrifying pain shooting through her nerves.   
  
Carina cried out in anguish as the pain surged through her. Her skin felt like it was burning off of her body.  
  
"Have you had enough?" the voice inquired.  
  
"N...never." She replied, breathing heavily. Her breaths were cut off as the darkness struck again, piercing into her with its venomous claws.  
  
  
Sirius, Reena, and Ceres all floated in the void of space, watching the black hole as it condensed. Suddenly, there was a thunderous rumbling, and the black hole exploded outward, consuming everything in its path. The guardians tried to flee, but they were sucked inward. Reena and Ceres opened their mouths to cry out, but their cries came to an instantaneous halt as they were frozen, suspended in time, as were the others.   
  
The blackness continued to expand at an insane rate, consuming entire worlds as it spread through the universe. Hundreds of billions of ki's were engulfed and terminated instantly.   
  
  
  
On Earth, the sky grew black and the ground crumbled as a terrifying rumbling sound surrounded the planet. The oceans dissolved and volcanoes erupted, surrounding the planet in fire. Men, women, children, the unborn, and the dying all breathed their last as the planet exploded and crumbled, swallowed by the darkness. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, comets, moons, and the sun were all surrounded and broken apart. Then, the wave passed over, and everything was silent.   
  
  
  
Carina trembled as the black lightning removed its deadly grip on her for an instant.   
  
"You friends are gone. So is your world." The voice said menacingly. "Now give up."  
  
Carina's eyes snapped open and she inhaled sharply.   
  
"COWARD!" she screamed as tears formed in her eyes. "I will kill you if I have to die myself!" Her anger rose and her body regained its white glow as her wings perked up and spread outward, a small span of four feet. She raised her head and looked straight ahead into the darkness. Her aura continued to grow and her hair raised above her head as raw energy surrounded her.  
  
"You can't stop me, princess." The voice spoke. "You have failed your friends and your universe."  
  
An image of Hermes appeared in front of her, followed by images of her friends being sucked into the void and trying to scream. Then, an image of the Earth exploding. Finally, she saw...no...that was impossible. It almost looked like...  
  
"Kira!" Carina screamed. Sure enough, there was a blurry image of her little purple-haired daughter. She looked into the eyes of her mother and smiled sadly before fading from existence. "No! Kira come back!" Carina cried.  
  
"She is dead, you failed her as well." Hermes said.   
  
Carina glared at Hermes with one of the most hateful and bitter expressions she had ever produced.   
  
"You brought your own death upon yourself." She said lethally, a voice that would send chills up the spine of any person.   
  
Just then, black lightning erupted from the fading image of Hermes and struck her body once more. However, it was deflected with ease and ricocheted off, fading from eyesight as it traveled through the void in the opposite direction.   
  
"Stupid girl! Prepare to meet your end!" Hermes hissed, sending more black energy toward her. It surrounded her body and exploded. Hermes smirked, but his jaw dropped open slightly when he realized that she was still floating in the void, unscathed.   
  
"Omega...." She spoke, her voice echoing off of the last syllable. "Super...."  
  
"DIE, BITCH!" Hermes roared, sending a massive energy wave at her.   
  
"NOVA!" Carina screamed at the top of her lungs. As she finished her attack, her ki exploded outward, incinerating everything in its path. The white light engulfed the black void itself. Hermes' face twisted in anger and then in pain, and he exploded. The light surged outward, covering everything it touched, as it ran on the same course the black hole had taken.   
  
Carina felt her body being ripped apart from the energy surge.   
  
"Not yet..." she whispered, and closed her eyes. After a few more moments, she screamed and was torn from existence altogether.  
  
The white light blanketed everything, finally coming to a standstill. In a final flash of brilliance, the light balanced the darkness perfectly, compiling with the negative energy as they formed into one mass again. The universe.   
  
  
"Wake up Carina..." the soft, feminine voice spoke. Carina opened her eyes and looked around. She was floating in space. Millions of stars glittered brightly around her. She still had wings on her back.  
  
"W...where am I? What happened?" she asked, looking around. "I'm alive?"  
  
"Not yet." The voice replied. It formed a woman's figure and in a flash of light stood a woman with long, gold hair.   
  
Carina gasped.  
  
"M...mother?" she asked. "You're alive!"  
  
"No..." she spoke, smiling. "I'm not. But my spirit is restored and so is everyone else."  
  
"But how? I don't understand."  
  
"You created the balance of good and evil that is needed to sustain the universe." She replied. "Now everything has returned. The timeline has fallen back into position."  
  
"What now?"   
  
"You must wake up." The woman said, and placed her finger on Carina's forehead. Carina closed her eyes as the warm light surrounded her body and tranquility embraced her 


	29. Chapter 29

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 29 - Orientation  
  
  
"Natalie!"  
  
The girl slowly opened her eyes and met a bright, blinding light. She immediately squinted and looked around. Blue sky. White clouds. She inhaled deeply. Fresh air.  
  
"She's awake!"  
  
She brought her hands up to her face and looked down at them. She felt her arms, and then her legs. She was alive.  
  
"Natalie are you okay?"   
  
She raised her eyes and met with the calm, sincere blue eyes of a purple-haired boy.   
  
"Trunks..." she whispered, making sure that she was still able to speak. The boy smiled happily and embraced her. She then looked around and met with the faces of four others. Goten...Sirius...Ceres...and Reena. "Guys..." she said, sitting up shakily. She reached behind her back and felt for white wings, but there were none. She then felt just below the small of her back and grasped a brown, furry object. Her tail. As her senses slowly came back to her, she realized that she was on the beach, still in her bodysuit. The others were in theirs as well, with holes in the fabric of Sirius and Reena's.   
  
A gentle breeze rustled through her hair. Her hair was shorter...and brown. She was back to normal. She was back to normal!  
  
Natalie jumped up onto her feet and looked down at herself.  
  
"Thank Kami you're okay. We were so worried." Trunks said, looking into her eyes. Her green eyes.   
  
"I'm okay!" she cried happily, and then turned to her three guardians. "And you three...how did you get here?"  
  
"We came here with the two Saiya-jins." Sirius replied. "This is the way it ended up."  
  
Natalie was so happy. She was alive, and safe, with her friends.   
  
"And...and what happened to Hermes?" she asked.  
  
"He's gone, for good." Sirius said.   
  
"Sirius..." she said and stepped closer to him. He just looked at her. Suddenly, she jumped forward, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder. Pulling away, she smiled.  
  
"Thank you." She spoke. "You've always been like a brother to me."  
  
The others looked at each other and tried to hide their amusement. She still didn't know.   
  
"Carina..." he started, but she shook her head.  
  
"I know, Sirius." She interrupted. "I know."  
  
She then turned to Ceres.   
  
"Listen...about what happened with-"  
  
"Ceres, don't apologize." Natalie said interrupted once more. "You know I don't hold grudges. I forgive you. You risked your life to save mine. That is the ultimate payback."  
  
"Th...thank you." Ceres said, her eyes widened.   
  
Finally, there was Reena. She looked into the blue eyes of her friend and then cried out happily, embracing her best friend. The two girls finally parted and Natalie, grinning, turned to Goten.   
  
"You had better take good care of my best friend, Son Goten." She said in a serious tone, but she broke her concentration and giggled. Goten blushed furiously and laughed nervously, placing his hand behind his head and sweat dropping.   
  
Natalie turned her head and looked at Trunks once more. Without a word, she leaned forward and tilted her head, bringing her lips to his. Trunks' eyes widened momentarily before Natalie placed her hand on the back of his head, drawing him closer as she continued to kiss him. Finally, she broke the kiss and stood back, looking at Trunks, who had gone red.   
  
"That's for being my hero." She said. Goten grinned and made whistling noises in the background while the three Sidra-jins stood in the background and laughed.   
  
Natalie broke away from Trunks and stood before them all.   
  
"Guys?" she queried. They all looked at her expectantly. "Where are the others?"  
  
"Right here." Came a voice. Natalie spun around and saw Vegeta, Bulma, Goku, Chi-Chi, Gohan, Videl, and even Pan and Bra, standing in a semi-circular group. Natalie almost fell backward with embarrassment.   
  
"W...were you here the...whole...time?" she stammered, blushing. They all nodded simultaneously. Natalie's breath caught in her throat. That meant that Vegeta saw her...kissing...Trunks.  
  
"Trunks, is Natalie a good kisser?" Bra laughed while Pan giggled along side of her. "Because I think you liked it."  
  
Natalie shunned herself for appearing to be so embarrassed.   
  
"Well now I know where Trunks gets it." She said, smirking, and looking at Vegeta. "At least that's what Bulma tells me."  
  
Vegeta facefaulted and Bulma blushed.   
  
"Why you little brat!" Vegeta snarled threateningly. Goku slapped Vegeta on the back, grinning.  
  
"Lighten up, Vegeta." He said. "You of all people should be proud."  
  
"What for!" Vegeta cried.   
  
"Because...uh...well look on the bright side." Goku started. "We can eat birthday cake."  
  
"Nani??" Vegeta barked.  
  
"Hai!" Natalie said, placing her hands on her hips proudly. "I'm sixteen today."  
  
"Sixteen?" Reena said. "Iie...you're 13."   
  
"On Earth Reena." Natalie said.   
  
"Then how do you know your birthday is today if you lost your memory?" Reena questioned.  
  
"I don't really know. I've always known." Natalie replied. "By the way, how old are you now?"   
  
"Well on Vela-sei, I'm about eleven and a half." She said. Goten facefaulted.   
  
"No Goten. She's older than that." Natalie said. "Vela's years are longer."  
  
"She's just over fifteen years on Earth." Ceres answered.   
  
"Whoa...I'm confused." Goten said, placing his hand on his forehead.  
  
"We need to give you Earth birthdays and talk in terms of Earth years." Natalie suggested. "Reena you are about nine months younger than me, so..." she trailed off, subtracting in her head. "Your birthday is in March."  
  
Everyone looked at Natalie strangely.   
  
"Yeah...March. Reena pick a number that you like." The girl continued.  
  
"Oh...um...how about...two?" Reena said, obviously at a loss.  
  
"March second it is." Natalie said. "Now you have an official Earth birthday."  
  
"What about Sirius and Ceres?" Goten asked. "They need Earth birthdays too."  
  
Natalie turned to her older brother.  
  
"Sirius...how old are you in Earth years?" she asked.  
  
"About seventeen." He replied. "The calendar here is on a twelve month system, with approximately 30 days for each month, correct?"  
  
Natalie nodded. Sirius looked at the ground for a few seconds and then lifted his head again.  
  
"Seventeen and five months." He replied.  
  
"Wow, you're only two months older than Trunks!" Natalie said. "Well that makes it January...we'll say January seventeenth."   
  
Sirius just shrugged and accepted it. He figured he was going to be staying on this planet anyway, having nowhere else to go, so a birthday would be useful.  
  
"And Ceres...what about you?" Natalie asked.  
  
"I already worked it out." Ceres replied. "I'm seventeen and two months, and my birthday would be in the fourth month, say, the twentieth, if I have the calendar straight."   
  
Natalie facefaulted.   
  
"That's April, by the way. And Ceres, you really need to go into science or math." She said. "You would be a living goddess."  
  
Ceres just nodded absentmindedly. She really didn't know what she was going to do now. Vela-sei was gone, and she had nowhere else to go except stay here. Though it seemed like a nice opportunity, she really didn't have much to live for on this planet.  
  
"Hey everyone." Goku said, walking toward the group of teenagers. "Let's go back to the hotel and get dressed so we can go get some food."  
  
All six of them produced hungry looks on their faces. They hadn't eaten in a while.   
  
"Ceres and Reena, you two can just wear some of my clothes." Natalie offered. "And Sirius...you can borrow from Trunks, Goten, Kakarotto, whoever."  
  
"Which way?" Trunks asked, looking around. They were still standing on the beach in a group. He also noticed that Gohan, Videl, pan, Bra, and his mother had already departed. Only Goku and his father remained.  
  
"Oh, I'll get us there quickly." Goku said. "But I don't know how I am going to transport so many ki's."  
  
"No problem, Kakarotto-san." Natalie spoke up, stepping toward the Saiya-jin. "At Kaio-sama's, you taught me how to teleport, in case you don't remember."  
  
"Oh yeah!" Goku exclaimed. "Well okay. We'll each take three."  
  
"Hmm ok." Natalie said. "Someone come over here."   
  
Immediately, Trunks and Reena jumped over to Natalie.   
  
"I'll take Vegeta and Goten, and the one of the others can come with me, and one can go with you." Goku said.  
  
"I'll go." Sirius said, and walked toward Goku. Ceres stepped toward Natalie. The two Saiya-jins prepared to teleport, placing their two forefingers on their forehead. The "passengers" placed their hands on the respective shoulders of Natalie or Goku, and they all disappeared, leaving behind some very bewildered pedestrians and passerbies. 


	30. Chapter 30

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 30 - A Friend in Need  
  
  
The eight reappeared in the lobby of the hotel, causing the people around to panic. The group of eight immediately headed for the elevator.  
  
"Sixteenth floor." Natalie said, slapping her hand onto the button inside the elevator. They all managed to cram their bodies into the relatively small elevator.   
  
"Kakarotto move over, you're breathing down my neck!" Vegeta protested, shifting positions, which also threw Trunks and Goten off, in turn Natalie was smashed into the wall of the elevator.   
  
"Someone do something!" she cried. "I'm suffocating!"  
  
Reena, who was also being squished into the other side of the elevator, called out to Natalie.  
  
"You and me both." She said. She was sandwiched between Sirius and Goku, most likely the two most built people in the elevator. Finally, there was a musical beeping sound and the elevator came to a standstill.   
  
"Finally!" Vegeta shouted, making his way through the crowd and tearing through the doors, knocking an old lady and her fluffy white dog out of the way.   
  
With sweatdrops, Natalie, Goten, and Trunks stepped off of the elevator as well. Goku was next, followed by Reena, Sirius, and finally Ceres.   
  
"Just follow me." Natalie said, sighing, and walked down the hall. She arrived at a room and stopped, turning to face the others. "This is the only room left. Unfortunately, it looks like we're all going to have to share it."  
  
"Just how big is this room?" Reena inquired, stepping up to Natalie and trying to look in through the peephole, but had no success seeing as she was on the wrong side of the lens.  
  
"Not very big." Natalie said as the others walked up to join her. "Ceres and Reena, you two sleep with me. The three boys get the other bed."  
  
"But Natalie they're only king size!" Trunks complained. "I'll sleep on the floor..."  
  
Natalie looked at Trunks.  
  
"Then the floor it is. I'll try to talk Kakarotto or Gohan into letting the girls stay in their room tonight, seeing as Veggie-chan won't have it." She said, and looked over to Vegeta, who was entering his room next to theirs. He shot a glare at her before walking through the doorway and slamming it shut behind him.  
  
"Carina...tell me. Do you and Vegeta-sama fight like this...all the time?" Sirius asked. Natalie just rolled her eyes and shrugged.  
  
"Two Saiya-jin deities with short tempers living in the same building...think about it." She said, and clicked the handle of the door, causing it to swing open. "And call me Natalie."  
  
"Bu...but Car-"  
  
"Natalie!" she said correctively, turning and looking into Sirius' eyes as she narrowed her own.   
  
He was easily six inches taller than her, about Trunks' height, maybe even taller. However, though he could appear to be intimidating, his blue eyes were soft. Besides, he didn't frighten her. Nobody did anymore.   
  
"I...I'm sorry." She said, backing away and looking past his shoulder. "I just...don't like living in the past."  
  
"I understand." He said, and brushed past her, walking into the room. Ceres and Goten walked in as well, followed by Trunks, and then Reena.  
  
"No he doesn't." Natalie whispered to herself. Reena turned her head as she walked into the room and looked at Natalie.  
  
"Why do you say that?" she asked softly. Natalie just shook her head and walked out into the hallway again. Reena decided to give the girl some time to herself and walked back into the hotel room, allowing the door to close on it's own.   
  
"Hey Nat-chan, why the long face?"  
  
Natalie turned around to see Goku leaning against the wall with his arms folded.   
  
"Kakarotto!" Natalie cried. "I thought you had gone into your room."  
  
"Chi-Chi kicked me out for a few minutes." He said, closing his eyes and grinning the famous Son grin.   
  
"Oh..." Natalie said, subconsciously swaying her tail back and forth, occasionally wrapping it around her leg and unwrapping it again.   
  
"Something is bothering you, isn't it?" Goku said, relaxing his arms and allowing them to dangle at his side as he pulled away from the wall and stood upright, looking at her with raised eyebrows.  
  
"Iie...I'm just..." she trailed off, turning her head the other way as her eyes started to water.  
  
"Just what?" Goku asked, taking half a step toward her.  
  
"Kakarotto stay there." She said commandingly, still not turning back to him. "I don't know what's wrong with me. A person can only dream of living the life of a princess, a Saiya-jin, a warrior. But sometimes, the grass is greener on the other side, no matter who you are."  
  
"You feel responsible, don't you?" Goku asked. "For what happened?"  
  
"I guess you could say that." She replied, and then sighed. "I just want to relax. It's great saving the world, but Kakarotto, I don't know how you keep it up."  
  
"It takes a strong heart and a strong mind, not just a strong body." Goku explained. "You're only sixteen years old. How can you expect to have the wisdom and experience of an older fighter?"  
  
"Because I'm the fucking Shiroi no Tenshi, and that's my responsibility." She snapped. "I have a responsibility to my friends, my loved ones, and my future family."  
  
"Natalie calm down. You're letting your anger take control of you." Goku said, his face growing concerned.  
  
"I can't help it!" she hissed.   
  
"Vegeta had that exact same problem when he first came to Earth." Goku said. "He still has trouble with it if he's provoked. You're angry because you feel helpless. Believe me, the Z-senshi know this feeling."  
  
"I don't care!" she cried bitterly. "I'm not a Z-senshi!"  
  
  
Inside the room, Reena heard Natalie's cries from the hallway. She stood up and walked over to the door, looking through the peephole. She was arguing with the other Saiya-jin.   
  
Just then, Trunks and Sirius walked up next to Reena.  
  
"What's going on?" Trunks asked, confused.  
  
"Nothing." Reena said quickly. "I just thought I heard something."  
  
Just then, they heard the sound of Natalie's voice and Trunks looked through the peephole as well.  
  
"What in Kami's name is she doing?" he said, reaching for the door handle.   
  
"Iie, leave her alone." Reena said, placing her hand on Trunks' and pulling him back. She then shot a reassuring look at Sirius as if to say "back off".  
  
  
Natalie felt her blood pressure rise with every breath she took. The rage surged through her as she thought about Goku's words. She did feel responsible. And rightfully so. She couldn't expect to be a princess, a Saiya-jin, or the Shiroi no Tenshi without having to work. So what was the big deal? Why did it make her so angry?  
  
"Natalie, you either calm down right now, or I'm taking you out of the hotel before you hurt innocent people." Goku said, his face turning from the worried expression to a hard, serious one.   
  
Natalie didn't even blink. She wasn't powering up on purpose. She honestly couldn't control it.  
  
Without another word, Goku grabbed her arm and teleported out of the hallway before she could raise her ki another increment.   
  
Reappearing in a deserted plain in the valley of one of the volcanoes, Goku stepped away from the girl, who jumped back in shock, not having expected it.   
  
"If you want to release your anger, you do it here." He said, staring at her with a stone-like expression.   
  
Natalie looked at the warrior. Though he had the reputation of being naïve and not very bright, Natalie saw the wisdom and wear that had been sewn into him throughout his life. He had a good heart and a sincere mind, and he cared about others. Now she realized that he had been talking about all along.   
  
"You're..." she trailed off.  
  
"Just like you." He said, nodding. "I used to be."  
  
Natalie dropped her guard and peered into the mind and soul of the Saiya-jin warrior before her.   
  
"Kakarotto-san....gomen nasai." She said, looking at the ground. "I'm sure you never had this problem, but anger is hard to control, especially for me."  
  
"Maybe all you need is someone to teach you to keep your anger under control." Goku said. Natalie looked at him.  
  
"Are you suggesting-"  
  
"I am." Goku interrupted her. Her lips upturned into a small smile and her face softened. "But you have to be committed to it, no giving up."  
  
"Of course not, Kakarotto. Since when do Saiya-jins give up?" 


	31. Chapter 31

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 31 - Good News, Bad News  
  
  
"Where is she?" Trunks asked, sitting on the edge of one of the beds in the hotel room. Reena and Ceres were sitting on the other bed, while Sirius and Goten sat on the floor, facing inward toward the group.  
  
"Last I saw she was out in the hall arguing with the Saiya-jin named Kakarotto." Reena said.   
  
"You can just call him Goku, it's easier." Trunks said. "Or...whatever. Nat calls him Kakarotto, but I don't really know why."  
  
"I think they left." Goten said, and walked toward the door. Looking out the peephole, his suspicions were confirmed.  
  
"Are they there?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Iie. They must have teleported, because we would have felt them leaving if he had walked."  
  
"But why, and to where?" Trunks said, standing up. "Hell we just got back and she has to run off again."  
  
"Listen Saiya-jin." Sirius said, looking directly at Trunks. "There is something bothering her, and she probably went to talk to the other Saiya-jin to calm her nerves."  
  
Trunks eyed Sirius suspiciously.  
  
"What could possibly be wrong??" he cried. "Hermes is dead, Orion is dead, and everyone is safe. She should be happy. I thought she was..."  
  
"Just give her a while." Sirius said. "She has new memories to adjust to."  
  
"So because you're her brother, you suddenly know everything about her?" Trunks snapped.   
  
"More than you know, which is pathetic, since you are her supposed mate." Sirius retorted. Trunks growled threateningly.   
  
"STOP you two!!" Reena cried, stepping in between the two Saiya-jin hybrids. Their respective tails thrashed wildly. "Trunks, how can you complain about Carina...Natalie...being angry, when you can't even keep yourself under control? And Sirius, what gave you the idea that you could insult Trunks just because he was confused about the situation?"  
  
"I didn't insult him." Sirius said defensively.   
  
"And I wasn't complaining." Trunks added.  
  
"Just stop fighting, please." Reena continued. "If we're going to live together for a time, we can't constantly clash over minor differences."  
  
Suddenly, Natalie appeared in the room, causing everyone to jump back in surprise.   
  
"Nat! Where have you been?" Trunks asked, and started to move toward her, but refrained.  
  
"I was having a talk with Kakarotto." She explained. "Sorry for taking so long."  
  
"Are...are you okay now?" Trunks continued to question. Natalie just nodded.   
  
"I'm surprised Vegeta and Kakarotto haven't noticed." She commented, looking down at Sirius and Goten, and then at Trunks.   
  
"Notice what?" they all chimed simultaneously.  
  
"The tails." She replied, waving hers about before wrapping it around her waist. She looked down at herself and noticed that she was still dressed in her bodysuit.   
  
"What we really need...is to clean off." Natalie said, unwrapping her tail. Trunks looked at Goten suggestively before turning back to Natalie and smirking slightly.   
  
"Right. We have plans for tonight." He said.  
  
Natalie looked at him like he was crazy and raised an eyebrow. Trunks then realized that his statement had come out the wrong way.  
  
"What I meant was..." he trailed off, trying to think of a better way to word it. Natalie just shook her head and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door before he could reconcile.   
  
Trunks slumped back onto the bed.  
  
"Well that went all wrong." He said, sighing. He then noticed that Sirius was shooting him a deadly glare. "Sirius NO! It's not what it sounds like..."  
  
"I know what Trunks is up to." Goten said. "And it has nothing to do with his hormones...entirely."   
  
"Goten!" Trunks hissed. Goten just snickered.   
  
"We forgot about Nat's birthday. What he meant was, we're going to go out tonight." He said, running a hand overtop of his black, spiky hair. "Besides, what are they gonna do in here with four other people?"  
  
"Goten, can it!" Trunks said angrily.   
  
"Aw come on Trunks." Goten said. "You know I'm joking."  
  
"I do...but not everyone else does." He said, and gestured toward Sirius. The half Saiya-jin, half Sidra-jin just shook his head "no".  
  
"I know, Trunks." He said. "But remember that I do have the ability to read minds."  
  
Trunks gulped. He didn't think he was going to hang around with Sirius much during this trip. If he did, he wouldn't make it back to Japan alive.  
  
"Not if you continue to think those kinds of things." Sirius said, replying to Trunks' thoughts. Trunks just jumped back and looked at Sirius with wide-eyes. Sirius just smirked and snickered lightly.   
  
Trunks thought.   
  
Sirius looked at Trunks and raised an eyebrow. Trunks just folded his arms and nodded his head slowly, as if to say, "yes, I did just say that."  
  
  
About ten minutes later, the bathroom door clicked and opened, and a cloud of steam escaped the room, followed by Nat, who was wearing a towel and a big grin.  
  
"MAN that feels better!" she exclaimed happily. She the realized the situation that she was in, being next to nude, with three males, even if one of them happened to be her brother.  
  
Trunks looked at her and his eyes twitched as he forced himself to think rational, calm thoughts.   
  
"G...gomen!" Natalie cried, jumping behind the door and peering her head around, which was bright red. "I wasn't thinking. Can someone hand me my bag? I don't have any clothes in here with me."  
  
Reena looked down at the pile of suitcases, trying to decide which one was Natalie's.  
  
"The blue and white one." Natalie urged. "Please, I'm getting cold!"  
  
Trunks' eyes twitched again.  
  
Reena reached down and grabbed the blue and white duffel bag, tossing it to Natalie, who promptly caught it in her right hand and zipped back into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.   
  
As soon as she had left the scene, everyone turned and looked at Trunks, who was looking rather uncomfortable.  
  
"What did I do??" he cried.   
  
Sirius was staring intently, most likely picking up on every thought that passed through Trunks' mind. Trunks noticed this and clenched his fists in anger.  
  
"Look Sirius, I can understand your need to watch out for your little sister..." he said, "but you DON'T have to do it like that!"  
  
"I don't trust you." Sirius said blatantly.   
  
"Would it console you to know that she has lived with me for about a year now, and nothing like that has happened between us, to that degree?" Trunks continued. "But you had better get used to it, because she is my mate, and that fact is pretty much inevitable!"  
  
Sirius looked at Trunks in disbelief.   
  
"Sirius give him a break." Goten said. "Trust me, I've been around this whole time, and those two are fine."  
  
Sirius just broke off his stare with Trunks and looked in another direction. Just then, Natalie walked out again, now clothed in a white tank top and khaki shorts, with a towel still wrapped around her hair.  
  
"Uh...why did everyone get quiet?" she asked, cautiously stepping out of the bathroom. Trunks locked eyes with her and then shifted his gaze to Sirius. Natalie looked at her mate and then at her brother, figuring that they had gotten into some kind of disagreement while she had been in the shower. Wanting to know what had happened, she chose to involve herself.   
  
"Sirius what happened while I was gone?" she asked firmly, raising the tone of her voice to a pitch higher to stress her inquiry.   
  
"What makes you think that something happened?" he asked, looking at her. His eyes were angry.  
  
"Because I can see it in you." She replied. "And in Trunks as well. Now tell me what you two did."  
  
"Nat, they got into an argument." Goten answered for them. "Sirius is being overprotective."  
  
"Of what, me?" Natalie asked, pretty much surprised at that fact. "I don't need protecting." She said, turning her head to look at Sirius again.   
  
"So now that we're on Earth, you want us to forget about our responsibilities to you?" he said, gesturing to Reena and Ceres. Natalie looked at him.  
  
"That's exactly what I want." She said. "If you worry about me all the time, you won't be able to relax. You want to enjoy your own lives, as do I."  
  
"Please..." Sirius started. Natalie interrupted him.  
  
"Sirius, that's the last order I'll ever give you." She said. "After today, you three are on the same level as I am, as Trunks, and as Goten."  
  
The three guardian senshi looked at her with looks of bewilderment on their faces.   
  
"Your mother...managed to preserve your personality, not to mention your headstrong flare." Ceres said halfheartedly.   
  
"That's nice. Let's focus on today." Natalie said. "Any ideas of what your 'plans' are yet, Trunks?" she asked, looking up at the purple-haired hybrid.   
  
Trunks laughed nervously and blushed ever so slightly.  
  
"Nat that's not what I meant..." he said.  
  
"I know." She replied, looking at him confusedly. "What did you think I interpreted it as...?"  
  
Trunks felt much worse. He now had to explain to Natalie the assumptions he had made about her thoughts earlier.  
  
Sirius smirked as he looked down at the ground. She knew what she was doing. Though he wasn't able to read her thoughts because she had a natural block so to speak, he could tell be her tone. Very subtle, but it was still there.  
  
"Uh...let's just forget about that one." Trunks said, trying to save himself. Natalie took half a step forward and folded her arms.  
  
"No I want to hear it." She demanded.  
  
"I thought..." Trunks started, thinking of a way to explain his situation. "You see..."  
  
"Nevermind, Trunks. I can use my imagination." Natalie said, placing her hand up in the air, signifying for him to stop. "I think that we should all six go out to eat somewhere really ritzy!"  
  
"I don't know of any places on this island." Trunks commented. "Kaasan might, but what are we going to do about them?"  
  
"They can do their own thing." Natalie replied. "And I guess I will have to find something better to wear. Something more...appropriate for the occasion." She added, drawing her hands out at her sides as if to present herself as being underdressed. "Then again..."  
  
"Nani? What is that supposed to mean?" Goten asked.   
  
"We should probably stick to something fun and laid back. None of us really want to spend all that money just to sit in stiff clothing and act like royalty."  
  
Everyone raised their eyebrows.  
  
"NO pun intended!" Natalie clarified. "The five of you still need to get cleaned up. Reena, Ceres, I'll find some clothing for the three of us. Goten and Trunks, you guys find something for Siri-chan over here." She teased, grinning at Sirius playfully. Sirius just shook his head sadly.   
  
A few seconds later, everyone was still standing in a big group.  
  
"Hey! I said get a move on!" Nat cried, trying to shoo the boys out of the room.   
  
"No you didn't!" Trunks cried in protest.  
  
"I just did, now go!" Natalie said, hurling the three Saiya-jins out into the hall and slamming the door. After a few moments, the door opened and two bags flew out, nearly impaling Goten in the face, and then slammed shut again.   
  
  
"Man, I thought two boys were bad. Now there are three!" Natalie whined, slumping onto the bed. "I feel like a soccer mom!"  
  
Ceres and Reena sweatdropped once again.  
  
"Er...Natalie..." Ceres said, making sure to pronounce the name correctly.   
  
"Nani?" the girl said, bent over and unwrapping the towel from around her hair. She stood back up, her face flushed from the rush of blood to her head, and her wet hair fell messily onto her head.   
  
"What are we supposed to do?" the girl asked.  
  
"Go get a shower." She replied plainly.  
  
"A what?" Reena blurted out. Ceres also looked confused.  
  
"You're telling me that we didn't have showers on Vela-sei??" Natalie cried. "Whoa...didn't everyone smell bad?"  
  
"N...nani?" Ceres said, her face twisting into an even more bewildered expression.   
  
"A shower. You know, it's when you go stand under a big faucet-like thing and hot water comes out and you clean yourself with soap." Natalie said, still shocked that they didn't even know what a shower was.  
  
"Oh." Reena said, smiling again. "That's a strange method of cleaning yourself."  
  
"Well what did we use?" Natalie asked, though she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer or not.  
  
"Just a standard sanitizer." Ceres replied. "I guess...you don't have those here."  
  
Natalie blinked, shaking her head quite slowly.   
  
"It's just a little stall that you stand in and all of the impurities are removed from your body. It sure is quicker than one of those...showers you were talking about." Ceres explained.  
  
"But probably nowhere near as relaxing." Natalie said. "Showers are so nice, especially if you get a soap that smells really nice and the water is just the right temperature. The hard part is getting out."  
  
"What do you do with your clothing afterward?" Reena asked.  
  
"What are you talking about? You just wash it normally." Natalie said, and then realized what Reena had been talking about. "Oh you don't shower with your clothes! You have to strip everything off first."  
  
Ceres and Reena looked at Natalie like she was crazy.  
  
"Just TRUST me!" Natalie said. "Now get in there, one of you. There are towels to dry off, and I have clothes for you to wear when you get out. Don't forget to wrap a towel around your hair so that it doesn't drip everywhere."  
  
Reena inhaled and bravely entered the bathroom. She looked around at the facilities...the sink, the toilet, the mirror, and then the toilet. Not too much different on this planet.   
  
Natalie walked in with Reena to show her how to turn the shower on.  
  
"You just turn this to the middle and then adjust it wither way depending how warm you want it. If you turn it toward the red, it gets hotter, and with the blue, it gets colder. Here is the soap, and shampoo for your hair."  
  
"Anything else?" Reena asked, chuckling.  
  
"That's about it. Um...I don't know if you two...shave or anything, but I didn't bring any blades because for some freaky reason I don't even have hair on my body." Natalie said, looking down at her legs.  
  
"Neither do we." Reena said. "We're Sidra-jins, not animals. Trust me...we've evolved."  
  
"Wow awesome! The girls on this planet would kill us." Natalie laughed. "Uh, well I guess I'll leave so you can get in."   
  
Natalie walked out of the bathroom and shut the door on her way, sitting onto the bed with a sigh.  
  
"I have a lot to learn." She said, looking at Ceres. "So you guys remember it all, huh? You didn't have your memories erased?"  
  
"Iie." Ceres said, sitting down onto the other bed, sinking into the soft mattress. "You probably wouldn't want to remember some of it though."  
  
"Why not?" Natalie said, shifting so that she was sitting "indian-style" with her elbows resting on her knees. "I'm very curious. I don't even remember the fight with Hermes, just killing him at the end."  
  
"Nothing prior?" Ceres said, cocking her head to the side and narrowing her eyes.  
  
"Why..." Natalie asked, sensing that she was not revealing something.   
  
"N...no reason." Ceres said. "I was going to ask you a question but you wouldn't remember."  
  
"Maybe I will. Just ask." Natalie pleaded. "Please Ceres I'm such a curious cat, I can't stand people keeping secrets from me."  
  
"Do you remember anything about Orion?" Ceres questioned.   
  
Natalie crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue in disgust.   
  
"Only the memories of him coming here. All of the things that happened on this planet are still stored up here." She said, pointing to her head. "I just don't remember Vela-sei."  
  
"Nothing at all?"  
  
"Iie...at least not right now. Maybe something could trigger my memories. You know, like, cause a flashback or something. Why what did you want to know?"  
  
"You know that you two were a couple on Vela, don't you?" she said cautiously. Natalie suddenly stopped looking around the room and froze. Slowly looking back at Ceres, she blinked.  
  
"Iie." She said in a flat tone. "You're lying."  
  
"I am not." Ceres said. "I am asking because there is a possibility that you could be pregnant." 


	32. Chapter 32

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 32 - The Night  
  
  
Natalie forced back a scream of repulsion and shock. Pregnant?? What had she done on Vela!?  
  
"W...what?" Natalie stammered, unable to grasp the concept fully.  
  
"It's not definite, Carina...Natalie." Ceres said. "Just possible."  
  
"No...I can't be...I can't." Natalie repeated to herself, staring at the bed. "I can't..."  
  
"First things first, Natalie. The reason I think this is because of something Hermes said."  
  
"What did he say!?" Natalie cried, nearing hysterics.   
  
"Well, when we first...met him, he said something about continuing the Sidra-jin race." Ceres began. "Preserving a warrior of the highest class, which was Orion. But he never said whether you two had-"  
  
"Stop." Natalie said. "I really don't want to hear that part."  
  
"Gomen, I was just-"  
  
"Ceres, no." Natalie said, placing her left hand over her mouth and looking down again. "I can't...baby...Trunks..."  
  
"Don't get worked up yet." Ceres said, placing her hand on Natalie's shoulder. "It's not guaranteed."  
  
"D...does anyone else know?" she asked, struggling to talk with the lump forming in her throat.  
  
"They all heard. Reena, Sirius, Trunks, and Goten." Ceres said.   
  
"Trunks..." Natalie trailed off, and then looked back at Ceres, her face red with exasperation. "Did he say anything?"  
  
"Not to my knowledge, he didn't." Ceres said. "Maybe you should talk to him about it."  
  
"I will later." Natalie said. "I don't want to think about this now. I just want to have fun tonight."  
  
"Good for you, Natalie." Ceres said. "Just know that we will all be here for you should anything happen."  
  
Natalie just nodded, turning her head away as she fought back tears. Pregnant...how could she have...with Orion...it made her sick to her stomach.   
  
Reena walked out into the room, with a towel wrapped tightly around her body. There was another towel wrapped around her hair, with stray purple strands poking out from underneath.   
  
"Is something wrong?" she asked, looking at Natalie's distressed expression.  
  
"No, I just feel...nauseas." Nat replied. She was telling the truth, just not all of it.   
  
"Well you were right about that shower." She said, grinning. "It was definitely...different."  
  
"My turn." Ceres said, getting up immediately. She turned and looked at Natalie one more time before going into the foggy bathroom and closing the door with a click.   
  
"Did you find anything for me to wear?" Reena asked.   
  
"Oh, kuso...I forgot to look." Natalie said. "Just a minute..."  
  
Natalie dropped to the floor and sorted through her bag, trying to find something for Reena to wear. She finally came across a blue cap-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans.  
  
"Is this okay?" she asked, holding up the selection.  
  
"Of course it is." Reena said, taking the clothes is her hands. "Um...anything...else?"  
  
"Huh?" Natalie asked, not quite hearing her friend the first time.   
  
Reena placed her thumbs on the inside rim of the towel she was wearing, near the inside of her underarms.  
  
"Do people on Earth not-"  
  
"Yes, we do wear them, but I don't think we're the same size." Natalie said.   
  
"Just rub it in..." Reena teased.   
  
"No I didn't mean..." Natalie trailed off, slapping herself on the forehead. "Don't worry. When we get back to Capsule Corp., you and I can go shopping for...stuff."  
  
Reena laughed.  
  
"Stuff." She said. "Sounds good. I'll just stick with this for now, but I don't know about Ceres, because she's bigger than both of us."  
  
Natalie just shrugged her shoulders as Reena sat on the floor, still in her towel, and looked through Natalie's collection of clothing.  
  
"I think you should wear this one." She said, holding up a little yellow top. "It suits you."  
  
"You think?" Natalie said, looking at the shirt. "But I don't like wearing yellow with khakis, it's too bland."  
  
"Aren't we an expert on Earth fashion?" Reena jeered playfully.  
  
"Oh of course I am." Natalie smoothly replied. "I'll just wear the yellow with regular denim shorts then. You need to get dressed as well, Reena."  
  
Reena nodded and started to change clothes. Natalie went to the opposite side of the room and did the same. Just as they finished, Ceres walked out of the bathroom, wearing towels around her body as well as her hair, since it was still long.  
  
"I never thought having long hair would be such a pain in the ass." Ceres said. "It took me forever to wash."  
  
"Well I can cut it for you." Natalie said, making scissors with her two forefingers.   
  
"I'll stick with this length for now." She said. "But later, if I don't adjust well to long hair. It's a nice change so far."  
  
Natalie tugged on her hair, which was longer than Ceres and Reena's both, just at her waist.   
  
"I don't like mine so long." She said. "As soon as we go home, I'm chopping half of it off." She then walked over to find clothes for Ceres.  
  
"Ceres do you want to wear the khaki shorts I just had on? I only wore them this one time." She said, holding up the shorts. Ceres just shrugged and accepted them. "And...how about this?"   
  
Ceres took the sleeveless grey shirt from Carina and immediately started to change. When she was dressed, the three girls decided that they needed to do something with their hair.   
  
"I have a hairdryer with me if you want to use it." She said, digging through her bag.   
  
"Sure."  
  
  
Trunks, Goten, and Sirius had already showered and dressed by now, and were waiting in Gohan's room, since they had used his shower.   
  
"Goten why in hell do women take so long to get ready?" Trunks asked. "I have never understood it."  
  
"Because they do all that extra stuff, like put ten different shampoo's in their hair and shave their legs and all that stuff that men will never understand." He replied. "Luckily in my family it's all boys except for my kaasan."  
  
"You three going somewhere?" Gohan asked, walking into the area of the room that the three Saiya-jins were sitting.   
  
"Dinner." Trunks replied. "For Nat's birthday."  
  
"Oh that's right. Are you going to do anything special?"   
  
"I have something for her." Trunks said. "I just hope she likes it."  
  
"When did you get her a present Trunks?" Goten asked, looking at his friend strangely.   
  
"About a week before we came here." Trunks answered.   
  
  
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Gohan answered it, revealing three young Sidra-jin women.   
  
"Natalie!" Trunks said, standing up and walking toward her. She smiled at him as the other two stood up as well.  
  
"Ready?" she asked.   
  
"We've been ready for about thirty minutes." He said, snickering. "Let's go."  
  
Goten tried not to stare at Reena too obviously. She had her purple hair down and it bounced off of her shoulders, cascading down her back, and her blue shirt hugged her curves perfectly. He caught a glimpse of her blue eyes before she smiled and grabbed his arm, pulling him out into the hallway where Natalie, Trunks, and Ceres were waiting. Sirius was the last to walk out, saying goodbyes to Gohan, whom he had just met.  
  
"Have fun." Gohan said, waving them off. "Just don't be loud when you come back, I don't want Pan to wake up in the middle of the night."  
  
"Hai, niisan." Goten said as they all headed toward the elevator.  
  
  
The six teens left the hotel and stepped into the warm air. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, casting a gorgeous array of colors throughout the heavens above.  
  
"Where to?" Natalie asked, looking at Trunks.  
  
"I don't know, let's walk around and find something." He replied. They headed toward the inner city, searching the streets for a promising restaurant.   
  
About ten minutes into their journey, Trunks was snapped back to reality by a tug on his shirt.  
  
"H...huh?" he said, shaking his head and looking down to see Natalie looking at him.  
  
"Look over there." She said, pointing. "Does that look okay?"  
  
Trunks looked in the direction that she had pointed. There was an average sized restaurant on one of the corners, labeled "Yellow Hibiscus Café"  
  
"You want to go there?" he asked. Natalie nodded, and then turned to the others. After conversing with them briefly, she turned to the street again and walked toward the building with a smooth stride, her long brown hair bouncing behind her.   
  
  
"Look at this Trunks." Natalie said, pointing to a picture on the menu. "Doesn't that look good?"  
  
"What...is it?" Trunks asked, eyeing the menu that Natalie held.  
  
"Lemon-pepper mahi-mahi!" she explained. "I am DEFINITELY getting this."  
  
"Steak for me." Trunks proclaimed. "It never fails."  
  
"Goten I don't know what's good on this planet." Reena said. She then realized she said it a bit too loud, and got a few weird stares from the other people inside the restaurant.  
  
"Meat." Goten said plainly. "Especially meat."  
  
"Oh...well then I'll order some meat." Reena said.  
  
"But you have to be more specific than that. You can't just ask for 'meat'." Goten explained, looking through the menu. "Do you like sweet stuff?"  
  
"Oh yeah!" Reena explained.   
  
"Uh...pineapple glazed pork?" he said, pulling the menu away from his face while still staring at it.  
  
"Sounds fine." Reena answered.   
  
  
Fifteen minutes later, they had all ordered and the food had just arrived. Since about sixty five percent of the group was Saiya-jin, the food went quickly. Reena and Ceres stared in awe as Trunks, Goten, Sirius, and even Natalie finished off their meals as they themselves had barely taken two bites.   
  
"How can you eat so much?" Ceres asked, perplexed. "Even the stomachs of a Saiya-jin have to end somewhere."  
  
"Didn't I eat like this on Vela-sei?" Natalie asked, swallowing a bite of her fish.   
  
"No..." Reena said. "Not nearly this much."  
  
"I think I know why, though." Goten said. "Since she is more active here, her metabolism is higher. We're all like that, especially when we train."  
  
"I'd like to start training again." Reena said, poking at the pineapple rings on her plate with the tip of her fork.   
  
"Remember Reena," Natalie said, pausing to gulp down her third glass of Coke, "Everything begins when we get back. Training, shopping, you know. The works."  
  
"I'm looking forward to it." Reena said. "I hope Vegeta-sama approves of me staying in his home."  
  
"Ah, Veggie-chan won't mind." Natalie insisted. "Besides, if he does, me and Trunks will take care of him." Natalie grinned and winked at Trunks, who just chuckled and shook his head as he shoved another bite of steak into his mouth.  
  
Twenty minutes after that, all six teens were finished. Reena and Natalie picked at the leftovers on their plates while the guys sat back in their chairs and relaxed. Yes, a full stomach definitely contented any Saiya-jin warrior. The waiter passed by and placed a check on the table inconspicuously, and departed once again to tend to another group of hungry customers. Trunks looked at the check.  
  
"That's not too bad." He said, digging in his pocket. "You should have been with us for breakfast on our first morning." He explained to the Sidra-jins. "The bill was like 400 dollars."  
  
"Is that a lot?" Ceres asked. "We don't know the currency, after all."  
  
"For food, yeah. But that's average for us when we all get together." Trunks replied. "We could clean the place out if we wanted to."  
  
"How much is it tonight?" Reena asked, biting her lip.  
  
"Just over 90. Like I said, not that bad."   
  
"I'm sorry we don't have money..." Reena apologized. "We'll make it up to you."  
  
"No way. It doesn't even bother me, I borrowed the money from kaasan." Trunks said. "I wouldn't make you guys pay even if you did have money."  
  
"Trunks is stubborn like that." Natalie whispered in Reena's ear. "Believe me, I've tried it all."   
  
After the waiter had come and collected the money, plus his tip, the six teens stood up and pushed in their chairs, leaving behind a table full of plates, napkins, glasses, and scraps of food. The busboys wouldn't be happy with this one.   
  
They all walked out into the warm night again. The sun had now set, and the sky was a dark navy color, not quite pitch black, and a few stray, wispy clouds littered the starry night sky.   
  
Trunks looked at Natalie, who walked a few feet ahead, and his heart raced. He wanted to give her the gift he had bought for her, but he didn't want to do it in front of the others. The brown-haired hybrid turned back and looked at Trunks as she continued walking ahead.  
  
"Why are you lagging behind, Trunks-kun?" she asked, slowing her pace to match his. "If something the matter?"  
  
Natalie tried not to look nervous. What if Trunks had found out that she could be pregnant? Did he remember what Hermes had said? Was this why he wasn't talking to her?  
  
"No, nothing is the matter." He said, looking at her and smiling slightly. "I was just...thinking."  
  
"A...about what?" Natalie asked, smiling nervously.   
  
"Nothing really. Different things." Trunks said. He looked over at Goten, who was walking a few feet away, his hand locked with Reena's. He had to admit, they were a great match. Things were almost too good to be true.  
  
Natalie thought to herself, trying not to wince.   
  
"Trunks." Natalie said, stopping in her tracks. The others kept on for a few feet until they noticed her fall back, and they stopped as well. "I need to talk to you."  
  
Trunks looked at Goten and nodded him off as he returned to Natalie. The remaining four started walking again, most likely heading back to the hotel.   
  
"Nat, is there something wrong?" he asked. "Is this about what happened earlier today?"  
  
Natalie was lost for a few moments until she realized that he was talking about her talk with Goku.   
  
"No, it's not about that, Trunks." She said, forcing a smile. Trunks smiled as well and took a step closer.   
  
"Do you want to walk on the beach?" he asked. "It's not even a mile from here."  
  
"Hai...that would be nice." She replied. They both walked, holding hands, toward the coastline.   
  
When they arrived just over five minutes later, the beach was deserted, and gentle waves lapped at the shore as a salty, calm evening breeze blew in from over the ocean. They began to walk along the shore, just feet from the constant, rhythmic ebb and flow of the waves.   
  
Natalie walked at a slow pace, dragging her feet slightly and kicking up damp sand as she looked out over the ocean. If it weren't for the sickening feeling she had, it would be the perfect ending to the long day.   
  
"Natalie..." Trunks trailed off. She stopped and looked up at him, her back facing the vast Pacific Ocean.   
  
Natalie thought. I knew it. What am I going to say?  
  
"Yes Trunks?" she asked softly.   
  
"I..." Trunks began, trying to think of the right way to say what he wanted to say. "I have...something...for you."   
  
Natalie blinked. She hadn't been expecting that.   
  
"You...do?" she faltered. "Trunks you didn't have -"  
  
"Hai." He interrupted. "I know I didn't have to, but I did. Close your eyes."  
  
Natalie forced her eyes shut, giggling slightly like a schoolgirl, excited to see what gift would be bestowed upon her. She jumped ever so slightly as he took her hand in his, raising it until it was level with her chest.   
  
"Happy sixteenth birthday, Natalie." Trunks said, and slipped something onto the ring finger of her left hand.   
  
Natalie's eyes snapped open and she cried out in surprise.   
  
"It's a promise ring." He said.   
  
Natalie couldn't contain her surprise and excitement. She screamed in joy and jumped up, wrapping her arms and legs around Trunks and holding him as tight as she could. As soon as she jumped down, she looked at her hand. It was a white gold band with a diamond in the center, framed by two small blue stones on either side.   
  
"T...Trunks I don't know what to say." She said, stumbling her words with excitement. "It's beautiful...how did you ever-"  
  
Her words were cut off when Trunks leaned his head down and pressed his mouth to hers, kissing her deeply.  
  
Natalie felt extremely at ease in Trunks' arms and she was overjoyed at the events that had taken place. However, one thing still worried her.   
  
Trunks wrapped his arms around Natalie's body, pulling her closer as they continued to kiss.   
  
Natalie's mind was going a million miles an hour. Everything was so perfect, she should have expected something to come up and ruin her life again. She was never at peace. The news about her possible pregnancy had been one of the most devastating blows she had received in a long time. She wanted to tell Trunks badly, but she was afraid of how he might react. Still, she could not keep a secret like this from him, for he would eventually find out, and then he would be furious, to say the least.  
  
She finally pulled away from his embrace gently, breaking off the kiss. Trunks looked at her with confusion in his eyes.  
  
"Nat...I'm sorry, I didn't-"   
  
"Trunks it's not that." She said. "I have to tell you something."  
  
Trunks wasn't sure if this was going to be good news or bad.   
  
"What is it, Nat-chan?" he asked.   
  
"Trunks...Ceres told me something today." She began. "While we were getting ready, and Reena was in the shower. We were sitting on the beds, and we were...reminiscing, more or less, about Vela-sei."  
  
"Yeah..." Trunks said, not seeing where this was leading.   
  
"I told her that I had no memories of the fight with Hermes. The only thin I did remember was killing him at the Shiroi no Tenshi state." Natalie continued. "Therefore, I don't recall the events that took place before or during the...confrontation."  
  
"What is your point?" Trunks asked, growing impatient. He looked into her green eyes, which had a dark cast to them in the dim light of the night sky. Shadows were cast over her body and the wind played with her hair. He now wished that she hadn't broken the kiss, because he was having a hard time fighting off the urge of doing it again. But he saw the seriousness in her eyes and told himself that he had to pay attention.  
  
"My point is, Ceres told me that on Vela-sei, Orion and I were a couple, that's what, and we were most likely going to get married." Natalie spit out.  
  
"I know." Trunks said. "Was that what you wanted to tell me?"  
  
"No." Natalie said. She couldn't tell if the shaky feeling was from her nerves, or if she was literally trembling. She finally used every reserve of courage that was left and broke the news, rather harshly. "Trunks, Ceres said I might be pregnant."  
  
Trunks' face, which had been previously relaxed and calm, suddenly tightened and his eyes widened for a few moments before narrowing.  
  
"W...what?" he asked. He didn't appear hostile...yet.  
  
"Trunks I'm sorry." She said, nearing tears. "It's not certain, but there is a high possibility. Ceres told me...she said that Hermes had saved Orion so that we would continue the race. She said that she didn't know whether Orion and I had actually done anything, but that Hermes had hinted toward it, and I can't be sure one way or the other because I have no memories."  
  
There. She had finally gotten it out. Now came the part that was the hardest of them all. Facing Trunks' reaction.  
  
"I'm sorry." Natalie said, finally allowing two tears to slide down the side of her face. "I know you probably hate me now and you think I'm some kind of slut, but I really don't remember. If I did do anything with Orion it was not on my conscious will. You know that I-"  
  
"Natalie stop." Trunks said. His face was flat; emotionless, and his eyes suddenly took on a distant, dazed appearance. "I don't hate you."  
  
"Trunks please, don't lie to make me feel better. I want to know the truth." Natalie sobbed.  
  
"I said I don't hate you." Trunks repeated, his voice taking on a slightly harsher tone than before.   
  
"Trunks-"  
  
"I said I DON'T hate you god damnit!" he shouted, losing the vague expression and taking on one of anger.   
  
Natalie took half a step back in surprise, almost falling back at the increase in his temper, not to mention his ki. Her lower lip trembled and she had to bite it to keep herself from breaking down. It was then that she knew he was angry. He was furious. At her, at Orion, at something. She was frozen in fear, and had no idea of what to do or where to go.  
  
"Y...you d-don't have to y-yell." She stammered, her breath catching in her throat.   
  
"I'M NOT YELLING!" Trunks barked. He didn't know what had come over him. He subconsciously transformed into super Saiya-jin as a result of the rush of anger.  
  
Natalie struggled to keep her footing. Trunks was super Saiya-jin. He wasn't going to try and hurt her, was he? Then suddenly, it came back to her. The day on the beach...they had been swimming. He had choked her. Choked!   
  
"Trunks...no..." she said, her voice barely a whisper. She hadn't imagined this kind of reaction from him. She now feared for her life. He could overpower her in a split second. Deep down, she thought she knew that Trunks would never hurt her. But when that memory had come back to her, she had lost all of her trust. Who was she going to turn to now? Then, it hit her. Sirius.   
  
Natalie straightened herself out and fought off the trembling sensation that had consumed her. Trunks remained in super Saiya-jin, glaring at Natalie threateningly.  
  
"Where are you going?" he growled. "I'm not through talking to you."  
  
Taking in a deep breath and exhaling shakily, she looked into his eyes  
  
"Trunks...I'm leaving."  
  
She then placed her two fingers to her forehead and disappeared, leaving the super Saiya-jin Trunks standing alone on the beach, under the stars. 


	33. Chapter 33

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 33 - Reconciliation  
  
  
Just as the group of four walked off of the elevator and toward their hotel room, Natalie appeared standing next to Sirius. She took her hand away from her forehead to reveal a tear-stained face. Immediately, Sirius spoke.  
  
"Carina what in the world is wrong?" he asked.   
  
"Sirius...I n-need to talk to you." She said in between sobs. Sirius looked back at the others and nodded. They looked at Natalie with worried eyes before walking into the hotel room quietly.  
  
"Where do you want to go?" Sirius asked.   
  
"Anywhere." She cried, wiping fresh tears from her face. "I just need to talk."  
  
"Come on." He said, pulling her arm as he walked back to the elevator. Instead of pressing the "down" button, he opened the door to the stairs and walked in, pulling Natalie behind him. He walked quickly up the stairs until they were on floor 20. Finally, there was a small door. He opened it and revealed the warm, night sky. They were on the roof of the building. He pulled Natalie outside and shut the door behind them.   
  
Natalie squinted her eyes and looked at the sky. The stars were out, but not all of them could be seen because of the drowning lights of the city. Still, the roof was relatively dark, and definitely quiet.  
  
"What did he do?" Sirius asked, his face bordering on anger, though he was trying to hide it.  
  
"N...nani?" she said, rubbing another tear away and bringing her hands down to her sides.  
  
"What did the Saiya-jin do to you?" Sirius repeated himself.  
  
"Sirius I tried to tell him about Orion." Natalie said, sniffling. "Ceres told me today that there was a high risk of me being pregnant, because of what Hermes told you about continuing the race. The last thing I remember is being the Shiroi no Tenshi and killing him. I don't remember being on Vela, I don't remember being with Hermes, Orion, or anyone."  
  
"Slow down, Carina." Sirius said, placing his hands on her shoulders.  
  
"It's Natalie." She corrected.  
  
"Natalie...gomen." He said.   
  
"I thought Trunks had heard Hermes say those things, and I didn't think he would be too shocked. I only wanted to be honest with him, Sirius!" she cried.  
  
"What did he do?" Sirius asked again.   
  
"We were walking on the beach, and he had just given me my present." She said, holding up her hand to reveal the glittering jewel. "We kissed, and then I told him I needed to talk to him."  
  
"Did he hurt you?" Sirius asked, his voice proving that his demeanor was losing its sanity the more he spoke.   
  
"Iie...he got really quiet, and then he started to yell at me and he went super Saiya-jin, and Sirius, I thought he was going to hit me, or try to kill me. I know he wouldn't do that normally, but he wasn't normal then. It was the look...the same look he had when he tried to choke me, right before I had disappeared that day." She said. "I was so afraid of what he might do to me...so I...I told him I was leaving..." she paused, coughing a few times and taking in sharp breaths, "...and then I left."  
  
"Car...Natalie. I want you to stay here." Sirius said. "I will be right back."  
  
"Sirius no! I don't want you to do anything. I came to talk to you because I thought I could trust you out of everyone!"  
  
Sirius looked into the red, swollen eyes of his sister, and his princess.   
  
"I'm not going to sit back and watch." He said, and then hit her in the back of the head, knocking her out instantly.   
  
Her body went limp and fell to the ground in a lifeless heap. He picked her up and carried her toward the door, running down the stairs, and back to the sixteenth floor. He ran down the hallway and knocked on the door to the hotel room. After a few seconds, Ceres came to the door and recoiled in shock.  
  
"Ceres take the princess, I have something to take care of." He said, handing Natalie's body to the blonde-haired girl, and then speeding off. Ceres, with a look of blatant disbelief, just nodded and carried Natalie into the room, allowing the door to shut behind her.  
  
  
  
Trunks fell to the sand, still in super Saiya-jin form. Had he imagined those words? No...she had really said it. Natalie wouldn't just leave him...would she?  
  
Suddenly, he felt the presence of another ki, and spun around to see a furious Sirius standing in front of him. The next thing he saw was a fist, followed by a bright flash of light, and then he was on the ground. He felt a warm sensation on his face, and realized that his nose was bleeding. When his eyesight returned, he stood up, facing the angered hybrid.  
  
"You son of a bitch, low down bastard. How dare you." Sirius said, slinging a string of insults at the super Saiya-jin.   
  
"How dare I what!?" Trunks cried. Then it dawned on him that Natalie had probably gone back to the hotel and told Sirius what had happened.   
  
"You know what you did." Sirius spoke gravely. "I have half a mind to rip your throat out."  
  
"Sirius if you so much as touch me I will kill you." Trunks countered, his voice every bit as deadly as Sirius'.   
  
"You're a heartless ass hole." Sirius continued. "She told me everything that you did."  
  
"It is none of your business!" Trunks snapped. "You protect her like she's five years old, she can handle herself. You're like a lost dog, with nowhere else to go."  
  
Sirius' ki jumped erratically. Trunks had struck a nerve.  
  
"She was in HYSTERICS when she came back!" Sirius shouted, growing an aura. "She thought that you were going to kill her!"  
  
"Liar. She knows I would never hurt her." Trunks said.   
  
"That's not what she told me." Sirius hissed. "I know about the time you choked her before she disappeared from the timeline."  
  
Trunks immediately paled. She had remembered.   
  
"I...I wasn't rational." Trunks stammered. "It was the time paradox, it was affecting us all, making us do things...crazy things."  
  
"Give me one reason why I should let you live." Sirius said.  
  
"Because, I have to make it up to her." Trunks said.   
  
"You aren't getting near her, ever again." Sirius said. "If you do, I will kill you."  
  
"Sirius she is my mate! You can't keep me from seeing her!" Trunks cried, growing angry.  
  
"Not anymore, she isn't." Sirius said. "Move on, Saiya-jin." He then started to fly off to tend to Natalie, when Trunks grabbed his wrist and stopped him,  
  
"Sirius no." he said. "Just listen to me."  
  
Sirius was fighting the urge to unload his anger onto Trunks and beat him senseless. But for some reason, he was kept calm enough to rationalize.  
  
"When she told me about Orion...I was not angry at her." Trunks explained. "I was furious at him, and at Hermes. You don't understand. I couldn't imagine her being that close to anybody else, let alone Orion. It just came over me, and I acted like a bastard."  
  
"That's not an excuse." Sirius said, glaring.   
  
"I know it's not. But I have to make it up to Nat somehow." Trunks said. He could feel his throat tightening. "If nothing else, I want her to leave knowing that I still love her."  
  
Sirius narrowed his eyes further.   
  
"Do it for her, Sirius." Trunks urged. "Just so she will have the security of knowing that I would never hurt a hair on her body."  
  
Sirius subtly peered into the mind of the young Saiya-jin. He saw that Trunks did indeed mean what he said, and that he wanted to make things right again, but something was keeping Sirius from letting his guard down right away.  
  
"Please..." Trunks pleaded.   
  
"I don't know why, but I believe you." Sirius said, his tone still ominous and intimidating. "I will give you one more chance. But mark my words, if you slip up again, it will be for the last time."  
  
Trunks could sense the iciness in Sirius' voice and knew that he wasn't joking.   
  
  
  
Ceres, Reena, and Goten all watched Natalie as she lay on the bed.   
  
"I have no idea of what happened, Sirius just dropped her off and ran, literally." Ceres said. "It doesn't look life-threatening though. Just a minor concussion."  
  
"She has been crying..." Reena trailed off. "I wonder why."  
  
Suddenly, Natalie's body began to glow faintly and then flickered out, disappearing.   
  
"Nani!?" Goten cried. "Another time paradox??"  
  
"Iie." Ceres said. "Sirius did that."  
  
  
  
Sirius stood in front of Trunks and kept his gaze steady, not flinching, twitching, or even blinking.  
  
"I'll make it easy on you." He said. Keeping his eyes locked onto Trunks, he concentrated on something, and then a figure appeared in his arms. Natalie.  
  
"Nat!" Trunks cried, taking a step toward Sirius.  
  
"You had better remember what I said, Saiya-jin." Sirius said. "I am giving you the benefit of the doubt here, and if you mess up, there is no coming back."  
  
"Sirius, trust me." Trunks assured. "When we come back, you can ask her."  
  
"You have my word..." Sirius said. He then tapped his fingers on the forehead of the unconscious Natalie a few times. Suddenly, her ki rose to it's normal level again and her body regained it's consciousness. Sirius set her on the ground gently before standing up, shooting one final icy glare at Trunks, and disappearing.  
  
"The Sidra-jins are a weird race." Trunks whispered to himself. He then looked down and saw that Natalie was stirring. He knelt down and rolled her onto her back. "Nat-chan..." he spoke. He then realized that he was still in super Saiya-jin form and immediately powered down. He didn't think she would want to come face to face with him while he was at the super Saiya-jin level.   
  
Natalie's eyes fluttered open, and for a few brief moments, she saw triple of everything, and wasn't able to make out the figure that hovered over her. Soon, her eyesight returned, and she blinked several times before realizing that it was Trunks. Memories came flooding back to her. She remembered breaking the news about Orion to Trunks, his reaction, and then running to Sirius. And that was it. She immediately placed her hands out, somewhat as a protective shell to shield her from Trunks.   
  
The Saiya-jin crossbreed had expected this kind of reaction, so he was not at all surprised.  
  
Natalie slowly scooted backward, her body paralyzed in fear. If she tried to run, would he come after her? And if she stayed, what would happen then?  
  
"Nat-chan..." Trunks said. "Don't hide from me."  
  
Natalie tried to summon her ki and teleport, but whatever had knocked her unconscious had probably hindered her ability to power up for the time being.   
  
"Trunks...get away from me." She whispered, still hiding her face in her knees. "I told you..."  
  
"The reason you're back here is because I wanted to talk to you." Trunks said calmly. "Sirius allowed it."  
  
"I don't want to talk to you any more." She said.   
  
"Nat-chan, just look at me." Trunks said.  
  
Natalie slowly lifted her head and looked at the Saiya-jin.  
  
"You're bleeding..." she said.  
  
"Hai...Sirius did it." He said, smirking slightly. "Listen Natalie I want to explain something to you. When I reacted the way I did, I did it out of blind rage. I know it sounds like an excuse, but it's not. Do you remember earlier today when you got so angry that Goku had to calm you down?"  
  
Natalie nodded slowly.  
  
"I felt the same way. It took over me and I couldn't rationalize. But the anger wasn't because of you. It was because of Orion, or Hermes." Trunks continued. "Nat-chan...I love you more than anything. The thought of someone else's child inside of you made me enraged. But I didn't mean to take it out on you. Gomen nasai."  
  
Natalie was unsure of how to act. She had never seen a more sincere, apologetic Trunks in the entire year that she had known him. She did believe the things that she said. She just didn't know what to think.  
  
"Sirius said that you told him about the day you disappeared." Trunks said. "About how I choked you."  
  
Natalie looked at the ground bitterly, recalling every last detail of the experience. The way his fingers were like steel cables around her neck, crushing the life out of her. The way he seemed to get some sort of enjoyment out of her pain.  
  
"After you were gone...everyone started to act crazy. I lost half of my memories and I acted on instinct. We were all affected, because it was the time paradox that changed us." Trunks explained. "When I choked you...it wasn't me."  
  
"Trunks..." Natalie said, finally speaking up. "I understand what you are saying. But I think...that our meeting has jeopardized the lives of you, your family, and your friends. Because if we had never had contact with each other, you would have never been dragged into the shit you've been through."  
  
"Natalie how can you say that!" Trunks said. "If we had never met, you would be with Orion right now. Either that, or dead."  
  
Natalie shivered and realized that he was right. If they had never met, Orion would have succeeded. And that thought made her feel worse.   
  
"Please, Nat-chan." Trunks begged. "Please forgive me. You know that I wouldn't hurt you for anything."  
  
Natalie didn't want to believe him, but she did. And she knew that he was right.  
  
"Trunks...if I am pregnant with this baby..."   
  
"I will still help you raise that child, Natalie, even if it is not my own." Trunks answered.   
  
Natalie paused, and then looked up into Trunks' eyes and forced back tears of happiness. That was the ultimate devotion. She looked down at her hand, and at the shining stone that adorned it. A promise ring. It symbolized her never-ending love and loyalty to her mate. And somehow, looking down at that symbol of love made her feel safe again.  
  
Trunks leaned over again and kissed Natalie on the forehead. She then brought her chin up and placed her mouth on his, and they continued from where they had left off.  
  
  
  
The three Sidra-jins sat in the hotel room with Goten, who was currently sleeping on one of the beds. His body was sprawled out and he was lying on his stomach with his face buried in the pillow.   
  
Reena looked at him and smiled.   
  
she thought to herself.   
  
Sirius and Ceres were talking about the situation with Nat and Trunks, and the possibility of her being pregnant.  
  
"But if she is, then what of that child?" Ceres asked. "Do you think she will keep it?"  
  
"I know her, and she wouldn't dare to abandon it. But I'm worried, because it would put a strain on...well...her relationship with the Saiya-jin, assuming that everything works out." Sirius replied. "But I'm wary of him. He has a problem with anger."  
  
"He must have inherited that from Vegeta-sama." Ceres commented, smiling slightly.  
  
"Still, that doesn't validate it." Sirius said.  
  
"Sirius, I know what you need." Ceres said. "You need a mate."  
  
Sirius looked at her as if she were crazy.   
  
"Not me Sirius..." Ceres said, trying not to laugh. "I mean someone else. An Earth girl."  
  
"I don't know..." Sirius said. "Sidra-jins and humans don't exactly make great pairs. Besides, I don't think the prospect of dating an alien with psychic powers is very appealing."  
  
Ceres snickered.   
  
"Sirius, there are other people on this planet with powers above universal level five." She said. "It was just a suggestion..."  
  
"Thanks, Ceres, but I think I'm fine." He said. "But if you're so interested in me having a mate, then what about you?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Ceres asked.  
  
"You know what I mean. You didn't have one on Vela-sei, did you?" he asked. "Cronus wasn't exactly a long-term...guy...was he?"  
  
"No, Cronus was just an acquaintance and he asked to escort me to the party. I didn't really have affections for anybody..."  
  
"Ceres I don't think you're being truthful." Sirius said, raising an eyebrow. "I can tell by the tone of your voice."  
  
"Just forget it, ok?" Ceres snapped. "It's not important."  
  
Sirius wished that he could read her thoughts, but it only worked on the weak-minded, which Sidra-jins definitely were not.   
  
"I'm sorry for offending you, Ceres." Sirius said.   
  
"I'm not offended. I'm just..."  
  
"Bitter?" he said, finishing her last sentence. She looked up at him in surprise.  
  
"Somewhat, I guess you could say that." She replied.  
  
"Does it have anything to do with...Carina?" he asked.  
  
Ceres blinked.  
  
"How...you can't read my mind." She said.   
  
"No, but it's just instinct." He said. "Are you angry because she has Trunks?"  
  
"Not him." Ceres said softly.   
  
Then, Sirius realized what it was.  
  
"You mean...Orion?" he asked, making sure that he wasn't just imagining it.  
  
"H-hai." She said. "I had always liked him, ever since we were young."  
  
"Ceres why didn't you say anything??" Sirius asked.  
  
"I didn't want to!" Ceres retorted defensively. "He liked Carina anyway, and I didn't stand a chance against...her."   
  
"You're tormenting yourself over something that you know you can't control." Sirius said, his voice filling with concern.  
  
"So what if I am?" she said angrily. "It just upset me that she got him just because she was princess."  
  
"Iie, Ceres, it wasn't because of that." Sirius said.   
  
"I don't care anymore." She lied. "Orion is dead, so I'll just get over it eventually."  
  
Reena, who was sitting on the sleeping Goten's back playing with his tail, looked up at Ceres and Sirius, having heard the entire conversation.  
  
"Ceres maybe you should find an Earth mate." She suggested.   
  
"Reena, please don't get involved." Ceres said, though politely, her voice was filled with impatience and irritation.  
  
"I'm not, it was just a suggestion." Reena said. "Because there is nothing you can do about Orion."  
  
"You don't have room to talk, Reena." Ceres hissed. "You're the one who can't seem to accept the fact that Belsevi is dead."  
  
Reena's muscles tensed up and her hand clenched around Goten's tail as her anger rose.  
  
Goten, being torn from his sleep by a painful sensation, yelped and snapped his eyes open. He felt someone on his back and turned, seeing Reena, relaxed again.   
  
Reena looked down and realized what she had done, immediately dropping Goten's tail.  
  
"Gomen nasai, Goten." She said timidly. "I was just...angered."  
  
"Ne? About what?" he asked. Reena just shot a cold glare in Ceres direction.  
  
"Are you guys fighting again?" Goten sighed, still pinned to his bed. "It's a wonder you three made it all the way here."  
  
Ceres and Sirius just rolled their eyes simultaneously and went back to talking.  
  
"I don't think they like me." Goten whispered to Reena. She just smirked.  
  
"Yeah, they do. They're just weird when it comes to people." She replied. After a few seconds of silence, they both spoke at the same time.  
  
"Where's Natalie?" 


	34. Chapter 34

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 34 - Tension   
  
  
Natalie woke slowly to the sensation of being held. She opened her eyes and looked around, focusing on her surroundings. Sure enough, Trunks was lying next to her, with his arms around her. They were still on the beach. An evening breeze whispered past, chilling her as it came in contact with her skin.  
  
"Trunks." She whispered, shaking him gently. He just grunted in his sleep and wrapped his arms tighter around her. "Trunks wake up." She repeated. He didn't move.   
  
Natalie just relaxed again, allowing her head to rest on the sand. It wasn't that she minded the position she was in, but she had no idea of what time it was, and she didn't want the others to get suspicious.   
  
Just then, Trunks stirred again. Natalie looked up at him and saw that he had opened his eyes, and he was blinking to readjust his retinas.   
  
"Natalie?" he said.  
  
"Yeah, Trunks?" she replied.  
  
"Hey." He said, smiling. Natalie smiled back.  
  
"Hey." She answered.  
  
"How long have we been lying here?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know, I was wondering the same thing." She replied. "You want to head back?"  
  
"Yeah...probably." Trunks said. "I'm surprised the others haven't come looking for us yet."  
  
"Yeah, me too." She commented, brushing her messy hair out of her face.   
  
Trunks unwrapped his arms from around Natalie's back and waist and sat up, looking around.  
  
Natalie was hit with a chill the moment his arms were gone. She had been so warm and safe, and it was hard readjusting to the normal temperature of the outside.   
  
"Which way?" she asked, having no idea where they were.  
  
"That way." Trunks answered, pointing to the west. "I can feel the ki's."  
  
  
"Don't worry about them, Sirius, they can take care of themselves." Goten said as Sirius grew angry and worried.  
  
"I'm not worried about them." He said. "I'm worried about Trunks."  
  
"Why?" Reena asked. She and Goten were now sitting next to each other with their legs dangling off the bed.  
  
"Look at the clock." Sirius said. "It's almost 1 am, and they're still not back. What do you suppose they're doing?"  
  
"Probably talking, Sirius." Goten said. "You're just being paranoid."  
  
Sirius just growled and looked away, forcing himself to think about something else. Then, he felt two ki's approaching. It must be them.  
  
No more than thirty seconds later, Trunks and Natalie appeared in the window of the hotel. Sirius walked over and opened, allowing the two Saiya-jins to enter. As soon as they landed and walked into the room, Sirius shut the window and turned to them.  
  
"Where have you two been?" he asked.  
  
"Sirius you're not my father." Natalie said. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm all right."  
  
"Is that so?" he asked, sniffing the air slightly.   
  
Natalie eyed him suspiciously. Just what was he up to anyway?  
  
"We had a long talk and we're doing fine now." Trunks added, also watching Sirius.   
  
"Are you sure that's all you two were doing?" Sirius asked, narrowing his eyes. Goten immediately spoke up.  
  
"Sirius give them a break." He said. "We need to all get some rest and forget about everything that happened today."  
  
"I'm all for that." Natalie added in, walking toward the closet where her bag was hanging. She dug through and found a pair of pajamas to sleep in.  
  
"Yeah, I'm exhausted." Reena said. "Natalie do you have anything for me to wear to sleep?"  
  
Natalie nodded and continued searching.   
  
"I hope I remembered to bring something to sleep in." Trunks said, scratching his head and kneeling down next to Natalie as he pulled his own bag out of the closet.  
  
"What did you sleep in the first night we were here?" she asked.  
  
"My clothes." Trunks said, laughing softly. Natalie cracked a smile and continued digging through her things.   
  
"How are we all going to fit into these two beds?" Reena asked, looking at the king sized mattresses. Even though there was a lot of space, there were six people. She worried more about the boys, since she figured that she, Ceres, and Natalie would be able to fit in the bed without major problems.  
  
"Some of us will have to sleep on the floor." Goten said, eyeing Sirius and Trunks.  
  
Trunks, who had found something to sleep in, stood up and folded his arms.  
  
"There's no way I'm sleeping in that bed with you Goten." He said. "Last time you pushed me to the edge and I nearly fell off."  
  
"Gomen, I'm used to sleeping alone." Goten retorted. Trunks narrowed his eyes and turned red while Natalie started laughing.  
  
"Oh is he talking about you and me?" she asked Trunks, standing as well. "Goten don't be jealous."  
  
Goten facefaulted and Natalie winked as she headed to the bathroom to change clothes. Reena burst into laughter and pointed to an embarrassed Goten. Trunks and Ceres just snickered, and Sirius stood in the corner, looking out the window, obviously deep in thought.  
  
"Hey Sirius what's the matter, huh?" Reena asked, looking over at the black-haired Sidra-jin. He blinked and looked back at her.  
  
"Just thinking." He replied.   
  
"Yeah we noticed." Goten said. "Has anyone ever told you that you look a lot like Vegeta when you do that?"  
  
"No..." Sirius said, walking over and sitting on the girls' bed.   
  
"Well you do." Goten commented. "Now that I think about it, you kinda act like him too. Maybe it's a Saiya-jin royalty thing."  
  
Sirius just shrugged. He didn't consider himself to be royalty.   
  
"Yeah Goten I think you have a point." Trunks said. "Nat does it too, sometimes."  
  
"Yes, but not as much as this guy." Goten said, pointing to Sirius.  
  
Natalie walked out of the bathroom, dressed in her pajamas, which consisted of a white "wife beater" and a pair of white cotton underwear. Trunks' left eye twitched.  
  
"Here Reena." Natalie said, tossing the other set to her purple haired friend.  
  
"N...nani?" Reena said. "You want me to wear these?"  
  
"Yeah..." Natalie said slowly. "They're the same ones I have on."  
  
"Exactly." Reena said. "I think I need more pajama for my money."  
  
"Reena..." Natalie trailed off, smirking. "There no more revealing than the bodysuits we were wearing."  
  
"YOURS was, but mine was normal." She retorted.  
  
"Fine Reena, it's either that or nothing at all. Take your pic." Natalie said, shrugging. Reena sighed and trudged into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Natalie just snickered.   
  
"I think I'm going to sleep in a big, baggy t-shirt." Ceres said, sweatdropping.   
  
"Aww Ceres live a little, huh?" Natalie said, folding her arms. "Besides, this is really comfortable."  
  
"Yeah, next to nothing looks really appealing to me." Ceres jeered.   
  
"Like I said to Reena, it's not as bad as it looks, and it's really comfy." Natalie said. "Besides, it's way too hot to wear heavy pajama pants or long shirts."  
  
  
Reena walked out of the bathroom, also dressed in the pajamas. This time, Goten's left eye twitched. Natalie jumped into the bed and dove under the covers, literally. She sat up, completely encircled by the comforter, with her head peeking out of the mound of blanket.   
  
"Well let's go to bed, I'm tired." She said, trying to suppress a yawn. Reena jumped in bed next to her.  
  
"What am I supposed to sleep in?" Ceres asked, still dressed in her day clothes.  
  
"Just get something out of my bag, Ceres." Natalie said, lying on her back and placing her hands behind her head, resting on the pillow.   
  
Trunks had also returned from the bathroom, dressed in boxers and a white tank top as well. Goten was the next one in.  
  
"You know, six of us sharing one bathroom is really going to try our patience." Natalie commented, tilting her head to look over at Trunks and the bathroom door that Goten had just walked through. "When are we going home?"  
  
"Hell if I know." Trunks replied. "Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week. It depends on my parents." The purple haired Saiya-jin eyed the bed that he was supposed to be sleeping in.  
  
"Trunks you know..." Natalie said, sitting up. "You can always sleep over here." She said, and patted the space next to her. Trunks blushed and shook his head, trying not to smirk, while Reena and Ceres, who had also joined them, looked at Natalie with one eyebrow raised each.   
  
"What has gotten into you, Natalie?" Reena whispered. "I thought you were modest about that sort of thing."  
  
"Yeah, yeah." Natalie said, shrugging her shoulders. "That's because I had Orion as my choice of mate. Who wants to go with him anyway, he's such an arrogant jerk."  
  
Ceres just looked away and lay down on her side, her back facing Reena and Natalie.   
  
"That's okay, Natalie." Reena said. "We marry young anyway."  
  
Natalie leaned over and whispered something in Reena's ear, which caused the girl to giggle and blush. Just as she did this, Goten walked out, wearing a tight black t-shirt and long pajama pants. Natalie smirked as Reena laughed harder.  
  
"Hey what's that?" Reena asked, noticing a glimmer of light from Natalie's hand. Natalie grinned proudly and showed off her new present.  
  
"Trunks-kun gave it to me." She said, beaming. "Isn't it great?"  
  
"Is it a wedding ring??" Reena asked, looking at Natalie.  
  
"No, it's somewhat of an engagement ring." She said. "But it's technically called a promise ring."  
  
Natalie looked over at Trunks and smiled, and the Saiya-jin returned that with one of his own.   
  
"What's so funny you two?" Goten asked, looking at the two girls. They were both bundled up in the covers, laughing and talking.  
  
"Nothing, Goten." Natalie assured. "We were just talking about my ring."  
  
"Right." Goten said, shrugging. Sirius silently walked into the bathroom, carrying some clothes he had borrowed from Goten.   
  
"Hey Ceres!" Natalie said. Ceres grunted in reply, not bothering to move. "What's the matter, huh? One minute you're fine, the next you're suddenly depressed. Did I say something wrong?"  
  
"Not at all." Ceres lied.  
  
"Oh come on. You can tell me you know, I mean, if I said something." Natalie said, scooting closer to the blonde girl and tapping her on the shoulder.  
  
"Carina just let me sleep, will you?" Ceres said irritably. Natalie withdrew meekly and shifted positions slightly, folding her arms and speaking in a monotone.  
  
"It's Natalie, Ceres. Just Natalie." 


	35. Chapter 35

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 35 - Homeward Bound  
  
  
Natalie awoke to the sound of muffled crying. Opening her eyes and blinking the fuzziness out of them, she sat up on her elbows and looked to the left of her. There was Ceres, her face in her hands, her legs dangling off the side of the bed. Natalie sat up as well, shifting positions. Ceres obviously noticed, and spoke with bitterness.  
  
"Leave me alone, princess."   
  
"Ceres what did I do?" Natalie asked, recoiling slightly once more, as if she were burned. "Please just tell me, I want to make it up."  
  
"There is nothing you can do for me." She said. "You wouldn't know the feelings I endure."  
  
"Why do you say that!" Natalie asked, somewhat annoyed at the comment.   
  
"Tell me you've led a hard life, Carina." She said, and turned to Natalie, her face red and tear stained. "Tell me."  
  
"Ceres it hasn't been the worst life, but it hasn't been the easiest either." Natalie said, her face deep with concern. "Just because I am who I am, does not mean, under any circumstances, that I have no worries."  
  
"Oh stop pitying yourself, Carina, you don't know what a hard life is." Ceres retorted. Natalie felt the stab of pain in her chest, not only because her words had stung, but because seeing her friends hurting somehow caused her pain as well. It was a deep pain that was affected directly be her mental and emotional state.  
  
"I am not pitying myself." Natalie said firmly. "I am pitying you. Look at yourself. You couldn't have been like this on Vela, so something -"  
  
"Not on Vela, you say?" Ceres countered. "I used to cry like this every night! And it was all because of you!"  
  
"Ceres..."  
  
Ceres clenched her fists angrily and her ki jumped slightly.   
  
"Tell me what has been eating at you for all these years!" Natalie demanded. "If it is so painful, why not tell me and I'll try to help you!"  
  
"You can't help me." Ceres said. "I told you once, and I say it again."  
  
"Ceres stop being stubborn. Talk about self-pity!" Natalie sharply retaliated.  
  
Ceres looked at Natalie in such a disgusted, degrading fashion that the Saiya-jin girl actually drew back about half a foot.   
  
"You know what you are, Carina?" Ceres began. "You are a slut, that's what you are."  
  
Natalie's heart jumped and her jaw opened slightly as she inhaled shakily. That wasn't true.   
  
"Of course it's true." Ceres said as if she had just read Natalie's thoughts. "Why do you think Orion was so attracted to you? Was it because of your personality? No, I think not."  
  
"Ceres!" Natalie cried, angered for the first time so far. She had few sensitive areas, but when they were struck, she went mad.   
  
"You know it is." Ceres continued. "You just don't want to admit it. You want to convince yourself that it didn't happen!"  
  
"Stop!" Natalie shouted irrationally, her anger growing with every breath. Whatever force was keeping her from attacking the girl in front of her would have to remain, or else chaos would ensue.   
  
"Look at how angry you are." Ceres mocked. "Why else would you be so defensive? Because you don't want anybody to know about it. And not only Orion. But him too." She said, and pointed to the sleeping Trunks.   
  
"Trunks is my mate!" Natalie cried, her voice erratic and pitched. "I love him."  
  
"But does he love you? Look at him. He's a Saiya-jin, and he has every female on this planet at his fingertips. Why do you think that you're the 'chosen one'? Maybe he's just using you?" Ceres said venomously. "I think that now he has gotten what he wants, he's going to move on."  
  
"He does love me!" Natalie said. She looked down at her hand for her ring, but it wasn't there. She cried out in exasperation and pulled the covers back, searching for the glimmer of light. Not able to find anything, she overturned her pillows in a frenzy, nearly throwing the sleeping Reena off of the bed in the process.  
  
"Sounds like an omen to me, you know." Ceres said. "Maybe it's trying to tell you something."  
  
"I...I just had it." Natalie whispered, looking down at her hand in shock.   
  
"Maybe he took it." Ceres continued to berate Natalie. "Maybe he's going to save it for the next one."  
  
Natalie knew that Ceres had gone too far. This time, she wasn't going to take the insults. Ceres was wrong and she knew it. Trunks would never betray her.   
  
"Yes he would." Ceres replied to her thoughts. "He already has."  
  
Natalie's eyes widened and Ceres, her face twisting into an evil smile, spoke again.  
  
"With me."   
  
Natalie, unable to control her anger, drew her fist back and hurled her entire body toward Ceres, intending on knocking her to the ground, senseless. Instead, she flew right through the girl, landing on the floor with a thud. This caused Trunks to be jolted from his sleep, and he say up, groggily.  
  
"What was that noise?" he asked, not noticing Natalie on the floor.  
  
"Oh it was nothing, Trunks-kun. Go back to sleep." She said. Trunks smiled at the blonde-haired girl and turned over, falling asleep again.   
  
Natalie forced herself up, supporting herself with her hands and knees. Just then, she saw it. The glimmer of light that came from her ring. Except, it was on Ceres' finger!  
  
"I'll kill you!" Natalie screamed.   
  
Ceres pounced on Natalie and wrapped her hands around her throat. Natalie choked and tried to breathe, but her airway was collapsing rapidly. Soon she drew in her last breath. Her lungs felt as if they were going to explode, and her face was red as she struggled with the girl.  
  
"Goodbye, princess."  
  
  
Natalie screamed and opened her eyes. She couldn't see anything. Everything was dark.  
  
"Oh my god!" she cried. "I'm...I'm..."  
  
Suddenly a light flickered and Natalie winced, readjusting her eyes, and looked around.  
  
"Natalie what in hell are you doing?" Trunks asked. "Were you having a nightmare?"  
  
The purple-haired Saiya-jin was also squinting, standing at the light switch with his hand still on the wall. Sirius had also awakened and stood up slowly.   
  
"T-Trunks?" she whispered, making sure that it was real.   
  
"What? Are you okay?" he said, walking toward her. "What just happened?"  
  
Relief washed over her body and she allowed herself to relax, but only slightly. Her dreams usually hinted on things to come.   
  
"I'm fine." She said, not sure of who she was trying to convince, Trunks, or herself.   
  
"You don't look fine." Trunks said. "Your face is flushed and your ki is unsteady. Do you have a fever?"  
  
"No." she said. Trunks, not believing her, walked across the room and placed a hand on her forehead. She drew back instantly. "Your hand is like ice."  
  
"No, your forehead is burning up. Natalie you're sick." He said.  
  
"I am not." She said. "I just need to relax, I had a terrible dream."  
  
"Oh no, just what we need." Trunks said disappointingly. He also knew that Natalie's dreams usually had some significance regarding the future, the past, or even the present.   
  
"Just go back to bed Trunks. You too Sirius." She said, looking up at her older brother. The black-haired hybrid, standing with his arms folded, shook his head at her.   
  
"I think you should listen to him." He said, referring to Trunks.   
  
Natalie frowned. Kami, these two were stubborn.  
  
"Now that you have awakened the entire floor, maybe we should let you see kaasan." Trunks said. "She will be able to tell for sure."  
  
"What time is it?" Natalie asked, looking around for a clock.  
  
"It's 2:17." Trunks replied, glancing at the alarm clock on the table next to his bed.   
  
"We can worry about that in the morning." She said. "Nobody, especially your parents, wants to bother in the middle of the night."  
  
"Natalie..." Trunks began.  
  
"Trunks just trust me on this one." She said firmly. "Both of you go back to sleep."  
  
Trunks hesitated, but finally returned to his makeshift bed on the floor. Sirius sat down on the edge of the bed and started to lie down.   
  
"I'm sorry I woke you guys up." She said. "I'm surprised the others slept through it."  
  
"Yeah, well you know Goten. He's a heavy sleeper. And I just assume the same with Reena and Ceres." Trunks said. Sirius looked at the light switch and flipped it off telekinetically.   
  
Natalie was lying on her back, staring into the darkness. She was trying to decipher her dream. She had allowed herself to attack one of her friends, with the intent of killing. And then she was killed instead. Did it really mean something or was her paranoia getting the best of her? And where did Orion come into this? Was Ceres...jealous?  
  
  
The next morning, Natalie woke up suddenly. She immediately pinched her arm to make sure she was in reality. The painful sensation that followed assured her that she was indeed awake. Her next reaction was to turn to Trunks. He was awake, sitting on the ground next to her side of the bed, leaning against the table that was next to her head.   
  
"Sleep well?" he asked.   
  
"Not really." She replied. "I tossed and turned."  
  
"You're still flushed." He said. "So you're sick."  
  
Natalie placed a hand on her forehead. It was hot, and covered with tiny beads of perspiration. Her brown hair was matted to her head. She knew that she wasn't well, but she didn't want to be a nuisance.  
  
"I think once I eat I'll feel better." She said. Trunks shook his head.  
  
"No way, Nat." he replied. "As soon as kaasan wakes up, I'm having her come in and look at you."  
  
Natalie groaned and fell back onto the bed, frowning and looking at the ceiling. She couldn't be that bad. She had never had anything worse than the common cold! Then again, she didn't remember about 80 percent of her life. But Saiya-jins didn't catch Earth diseases. If they did it was extremely rare. So, Natalie concluded that it had to have happened when she was in possession of Hermes, or yesterday, from one of the other Sidra-jins.   
  
"What are you thinking about?" Trunks asked, looking at her distant expression. Natalie snapped back to reality and shook her head a few times.  
  
"Oh I'm sorry." She said. "I was just wondering where I could have caught the virus."  
  
Just then, Sirius opened his eyes. He had been lying on his stomach, his head facing Natalie's bed. After blinking a few times, he sat up.  
  
"Is everyone else asleep?" he asked. Natalie looked at the other three and nodded.  
  
"Don't tell them about last night." She said to the two Saiya-jins. "I don't really want to explain it."  
  
"Why not? Did it have to do with one of them?" Sirius inquired. Natalie swore that Sirius was reading her mind, but she knew that he couldn't even if he wanted to. Natalie's delayed reaction only confirmed his suspicions.   
  
"I really don't want to talk about it." She said. "I don't even want to think about it."  
  
"That's fine." Sirius said. He started thinking about which of the three it could be. Something told him that it was the blonde-haired girl who was sleeping on her side with her back facing them. He just got the feeling...that it was Ceres.  
  
  
About an hour later, when everyone had woken up, Trunks had gotten his mother to come in and look at Natalie. Everyone had showered with the exception of Natalie herself, because Trunks insisted she stay in bed until Bulma made a diagnosis.  
  
"To be honest, I'm not really sure what this is." Bulma said. "It has some symptoms of influenza, some of a respiratory tract infection, and some of mononucleosis."  
  
"Ah kuso!" Natalie whined, slumping back into her bed. "I can't believe I get sick when we're on vacation."  
  
"We were going to head home today anyway, Nat-chan." Bulma said. "I have already started packing. However, we have one problem."  
  
"What's that?" she asked.  
  
"Transportation." Bulma replied. "My tousan brought us here in the capsule jet, but he and kaasan are still gone because we had originally planned to stay for a week and I have no way of getting in touch with him."  
  
"That's simple Bulma." Natalie said. "Just have Kakarotto teleport us."  
  
"There are too many people." Trunks said. "And you're sick, so you're not going to try to teleport."  
  
Natalie grumbled. "Well why not have him find Dr. Briefs' ki and teleport to him?"  
  
"It's worth a shot." Bulma said, heading for the door. "Natalie you stay in bed. You can get up to take a shower, but that's all."  
  
Natalie mumbled something under her breath as Bulma walked out. Everyone then directed his or her attention to the brown haired Sidra-jin.   
  
"What are you all looking at?" she whined. "I'm perfectly fine. In fact, a shower sounds really good right now."  
  
"Are you sure you know how to use it?" Reena teased. Natalie laughed half-heartedly with sarcasm apparent in her voice.  
  
Trunks, Goten, and Sirius all looked at her.  
  
"Oh, you guys...Reena didn't know how to use the shower yesterday." Natalie laughed.   
  
"She used one on the capsule pod on the way to Vela." Trunks said. "They all did."  
  
"Trunks our memories are foggy." Reena said. "I can't remember everything that happened...not even half."  
  
Natalie just shrugged and reached for a towel. "You guys just have a nice discussion, and I'll be back in ten minutes." She said, walking into the bathroom and closing the door.  
  
"I think..." Sirius said. "That she has a virus from Vela-sei."  
  
"Really?" Trunks asked. "It isn't serious, is it? It can't be, she's still walking."  
  
"Well I'm not sure which one it is." Sirius said. He looked over at Ceres. "What do you think?"  
  
She just shrugged her shoulders. "It sounds like an average virus, nothing to be worried about."  
  
"I hope so." Trunks replied. "But the problem is we don't have vaccines for it. Being from another planet and all, it's not exactly something we can just cure."  
  
"We're not even sure. We can figure it out when we get back to...what was that place called again?"  
  
"Capsule Corp." Goten answered. "And I think you three are going to be living there for a while."  
  
"Oh no we can make our own place." Reena said. "We don't want to intrude."  
  
"Reena, it isn't intruding." Trunks said. "We have plenty of spare rooms on the lower level, and an extra on the upper level. There's training areas, a lab, a semi-hospital, and a plethora of food."  
  
The Sidra-jins all looked at the purple haired boy.   
  
"Well if you're sure about it, and we have nowhere else to go." Reena began.  
  
"Don't worry about it. Hell Goten you can stay too, I don't care. The place is big enough." Trunks said.   
  
A few minutes later, Natalie emerged from the bathroom, this time fully clothed. Her wet hair fell messily past her shoulders and she had a few beads of water on the back of her neck.   
  
"That water was hot!" she said. "I had to turn halfway it to the blue "C" before it finally cooled down."   
  
"Or, maybe you were hot and the water felt even warmer. You're still sick, and Bulma said that you were to remain in bed." Sirius said.   
  
Natalie tried not to roll her eyes. After all, she had only known her brother for a few days. He was just overprotective of her, like a father figure almost. She looked over at Ceres and recalled her nightmare. Ceres couldn't really feel that bitter toward her...it wasn't possible. Natalie shook the thought from her mind and brushed by Goten and Reena on her way to the closet, where she threw her towels in the basket in the corner. She swayed very slightly and placed her hand on the wall for support. She was tired. The nightmare had probably been the cause for her fatigue. But she hated to sleep during the day, because she always felt like she wasted her time when she woke up. She started to pack her things into her bag. She looked at the "Capsule Corporation" insignia on the side facing her, and smiled slightly. What a weird year. More specifically, a weird week. She sighed and looked at the wall of the closet, thinking back on things that had happened within the past two years she had been on Earth. It was funny, because before she had encountered Orion the first time, she had always felt that Earth was the place for her and there was no question of her heritage. But Natalie recalled that she didn't have any memories before the age of 14. The whole idea seemed to contradict itself. But now she knew better, because of her experiences. This really must be fate, she thought, because it wasn't just chance that running into Trunks changed her destiny forever. And the concept of worrying about Ceres seemed ridiculous, if she looked at it logically. But Natalie, as others also knew, was not always logical.   
  
  
  
Later, Natalie, Trunks, and Goten had all but finished packing a few choice items into their bags. Reena, Ceres, and Sirius, having nothing at all, were just standing by, wearing borrowed clothes, and helping when it was needed.  
  
Bulma had come in several times to check up on Natalie, and every time she lectured the girl about being up. Natalie got defensive and said that she wasn't too sick to pack her things, no matter what kind of bug she had. Bulma would eventually give up and leave to tend to her own business. Natalie commented, saying that she appreciated the concern from Trunks' mother, but she didn't want to be treated like a little kid. She subtly directed that comment in the direction of Sirius as well, hoping that he would take the hint.   
  
Goku had successfully contacted Dr. Briefs, who was now on his way to the island to pick up the group of Saiya-jins, Sidra-jins, and humans. The only part Natalie wasn't looking forward to was explaining her Sidra-jin allies. She didn't want to refer to them as guardians, because there was no longer a monarchy, and she considered them her equals, and her friends.   
  
"Nat I'll carry your bag." Trunks offered, seeing her struggle to keep the strap over her shoulder. They were all walking out to the capsule car to head toward the airport.  
  
"No I have it Trunks." She replied. "Thanks anyway. Why don't you help your mom, or Videl? They both have more than one bag to carry."  
  
Trunks shrugged and walked over, taking both of Videl's bags. She let out a sigh of relief and thanked him.   
  
"It's a shame we didn't get to stay longer." Chi-Chi said. "I really enjoyed the tropical weather."  
  
"We can come back maybe later this summer." Bulma said. Vegeta was also walking beside her, when he finally caught sight of something he hadn't noticed before.   
  
"Come here boy." Vegeta said in a gruff, curt voice, obviously talking to his son. Trunks slowed down and walked over to his father, who was carrying a Capsule Corp. bag under his arm.  
  
"Yeah?" Trunks asked. "What is it?"  
  
"Turn around." He ordered. Trunks shrugged and turned around in a circle. He didn't know what his dad was up to, but it didn't seem to bother him, so he complied.   
  
"When did you get this!" Vegeta demanded, grabbing Trunks' tail in his hand. Trunks yelped and jumped away, nearly dropping one of Videl's bags.   
  
"Dad that hurts!" Trunks said, a bit irritated. "We all have them. All the Saiya-jins that is."  
  
"Since when?" Vegeta asked.   
  
"Since we fought that Hermes guy, dad." Trunks replied. He had forgotten about the tail this morning, and hadn't thought about explaining it to his parents prior to now.  
  
"What, Goten do you have one too?" Gohan asked, looking over at his younger brother. Goten responded by waving it around a few times before letting it drop again.   
  
"I see the girl still has hers." Vegeta commented.   
  
"Why, Vegeta, are you jealous because you don't have one?" she mocked. Vegeta gritted his teeth and swore at her in his mind, which Sirius picked up on instantaneously, but didn't bother mentioning.   
  
"Wait a minute." Gohan interrupted. Vegeta and Natalie turned their heads to look at him.  
  
"What is it, Gohan?" she asked. She didn't know Gohan much at all, she was only acquainted, and she knew a few things about him.   
  
"We will probably have to remove them anyway, because we don't want to risk...you know. The oozaru stage." Gohan answered. Goku and Vegeta looked at Gohan. They both had first hand experience, as did Gohan, with the oozaru stage, and the sheer destructive power it yielded.   
  
"The kid has a point." Vegeta said.   
  
"We can just have Bulma remove them." Goku said insightfully.   
  
"Aww I like mine." Goten whined, bringing it up to his waist and wrapping it around once.   
  
"What about Sirius?" Natalie asked. "He has one too."  
  
Vegeta, not having aforementioned knowledge on Sirius, stopped in his tracks and looked at the hybrid. Sure enough, there was a brown, Saiya-jin tail sprouting from his backside.   
  
"How did that brat get one??" Vegeta demanded, and looked at Natalie. "You know something about it, now tell."  
  
"Chill out, Vegeta." Natalie said, and grabbed Sirius' arm, stopping him and pulling him over. "He's half Saiya-jin actually."  
  
Sirius looked at the prince of Saiya-jin who stood about ten feet away from him. He had an angry, aggravated look on his face, obviously mad that nobody had told him about the new Saiya-jin.   
  
"I thought he was Sidra-jin." Vegeta growled. "One of his parents must have been Saiya-jin then. Well who was it?"  
  
"My father is the Saiya-jin." Natalie answered. "Sirius is my brother."  
  
Vegeta's face twitched.  
  
"Your brother, is he?" he asked, studying Sirius. "You look a lot like your father."   
  
Sirius' gaze was steady and uninterrupted.  
  
"Don't look at me like that." Vegeta snapped. "Your father is still a weakling compared to me. He was only an elite warrior, while I am one of the rare super elite Saiya-jins."  
  
Natalie's face twisted into a scowl.  
  
"If you're going to be insulting, then you can walk by yourself." She said, and hoisted her bag onto her hip before walking off, her tail thrashing wildly behind her. Sirius finally broke his stare and walked away as well, leaving Vegeta standing alone. The Saiya-jin let out a "hmph" and shrugged, acting indignant and unconcerned with the events.   
  
They eventually reached the aircar and loaded their bags into the trunk, and then piled in. If they thought things were bad before, they were worse now. Now they had three more people to fit in. This meant that everyone resorted to doubling up. All of the women sat in the laps of their male counterparts, with Ceres sitting in an irritated Sirius' lap, and the two girls sat in the laps of Natalie and Reena in the backseat. It took ten minutes to reach the airport, where Dr. Briefs was already waiting with the jet.   
  
Everyone squeezed out of the capsule car and grabbed their respective bags before boarding. Bulma was the last off, and encapsulated the aircar.   
  
"Welcome aboard everyone." Dr. Briefs said, standing in the door of the airplane. They all walked onto the jet, one by one, and threw their bags into the overhead bin.   
  
"You know, this is just a standard jet." Natalie explained to Reena. "Maybe a bit better than commercial jumbo jets. So it's still going to take about seven hours to get back to Japan."  
  
"Seven hours!" Reena cried. "What are we going to do until then?"  
  
"It was longer coming here because there was a storm. Usually, you do nothing. Try to get some sleep." Natalie said. "Or we can always go have a food fight again."  
  
Reena decided not to ask about that one and sat down next to Natalie, next to the window. Natalie sat in the seat next to the aisle. This time, Goten and Trunks were sitting across the aisle from her. Pan and Bra sat near the back with their parents.   
  
"Hey Trunks where's the cake?" Natalie whispered, smirking slightly. Trunks laughed and pointed toward the cabin, where they were sure Mrs. Briefs would emerge sometime soon. Natalie sat back in her seat, resting her head against the cushioned back. Sirius and Ceres were sitting in the row behind her, and she could hear them talking quietly, but she couldn't really make out the words. In fact, everything sounded distant to her. As she took in a deep breath, her stomach knotted slightly. She blamed it on her "mystery virus", figuring that it was probably something stupid like the Vela-sei flu. As her thoughts slowly drifted from her mind, Natalie fell into a deep sleep. 


	36. Chapter 36

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 36 - It Gets Worse  
  
  
Trunks looked over from his seat and noticed that Natalie had her head rested against the back of the chair with her eyes closed. He couldn't tell whether she was asleep or not, but he did see that her cheeks were still red and her forehead was slightly damp. Her tail, which hung off the side of the chair, twitched slightly and subconsciously. Trunks also noted that Goten's and Sirius' did the same. In fact, they all did it, when they had their minds on something, or deep in thought.   
  
His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything as of yet. He looked toward the cockpit and expected to see his grandmother walking out with a cart full of food, but there was no sign of preparation as of yet. That made sense, though, since the jet hadn't even taken off.  
  
Just then, he heard the engines scream to life and grow in intensity until they remained at a constant humming sound. Again, he looked at Natalie, who shifted positions and moaned slightly. She was sleeping.   
  
Reena, who was sitting next to her, was looking out the window at the bright blue sky. She watched as the jet slowly built speed as it raced down the runway. She was pressed lightly against the back of her chair, and then it took off, causing her stomach to feel uneasy for a fleeting moment before her body readjusted to its environment and her sense of balance returned to normal.   
  
Natalie opened her eyes and whined softly as her head ached dully. She looked around and reacquainted herself with her surroundings. Trunks was sitting across the aisle from her, and she reached her hand over to him, not extending far enough to touch his shoulder.   
  
"Hey Trunks." She said, her voice barely audible.   
  
Trunks turned from his friend to see Natalie with her arm extended toward him. She looked terrible. Her eyelids were heavy and she struggled to keep them open while her entire body seemed flushed, with a thin layer of sweat blanketing her face.  
  
"Natalie what on Earth..." Trunks broke off. "You're getting worse by the minute."  
  
"I'm fine." She said. "Just tired. I was wondering if you had anything to eat, I'm starving."  
  
Trunks looked at her, not sure of just how to reply to her question.  
  
"Well, we do. But are you sure you should be eating right now?" he asked. "You look really sick."  
  
"I'm not nauseas..." she said. "Please? Just something small, like crackers or something. That's all I need."  
  
Reena listened to Natalie talk pitifully to the Saiya-jin across the aisle. She wondered if the sickness was actually a virus or if it was a side-effect of pregnancy. However, she couldn't assume anything since they didn't know whether Natalie was definitely pregnant or not. Hermes could have been bluffing, after all.  
  
"When we get home, the first thing you're gonna do is eat a senzu bean." Trunks said, sounding just like a parent.   
  
Natalie just nodded slowly.  
  
"That's fine with me." She said. "Any food sounds good right now, even a senzu."  
  
Trunks cleared his throat nervously. First there was the morning sickness, and now the food cravings. Trunks was familiar with this from when his mom was pregnant with Bra.   
  
"Nat...let me ask you something." Trunks began. Natalie raised her head a bit and looked at him questionably. "Do you know how long you were...well, imprisoned?" he asked.  
  
Natalie looked at him for a few moments.  
  
"No I don't." she said. "I've already explained this to you, I don't remember anything after-"  
  
"After killing Hermes, I know." Trunks interrupted. "I was just asking."  
  
"Why?" Natalie asked, somewhat taken aback.  
  
"No reason." Trunks answered quickly. "You look tired, you should get some sleep."   
  
"I'll be just fine." Natalie said defensively. "I'm not tired."  
  
Trunks thought to himself. With every growing minute he felt the dread increase in the pit of his stomach. Sure, he had promised to help Natalie raise a child, but the prospect of it didn't appeal much. And if she did have the baby, what would happen to Kira? Would this change time? Trunks groaned softly and ran his hand through his hair. He was frustrated.   
  
"Trunks are you ok?" Goten asked, looking over at his friend. Trunks just shook his head.  
  
"No, not really Goten." He said. "You?"  
  
"I'm hungry." He complained. "When are we gonna be served?"  
  
"Probably not until we reach a steady position in the air." Trunks said. "You can wait twenty minutes."   
  
"Well okay." Goten said, and pulled on his headphones. Trunks cursed to himself and wondered why he hadn't brought his own. He was going to die of boredom before they were halfway there. If only Natalie weren't sick, maybe they could have another food fight. But since she was, and she also had three friends traveling with her, he didn't think it would be a good idea.   
  
Natalie shifted positions yet again, the snaps on her overalls making metallic clanking sounds as she moved. One of her sandals fell off, and the other was barely holding on. Her tank top was twisted from all of the stirring. She felt the dull agitation of boredom and frustration. She wanted to move. Run, fly, swim, anything. She felt like she was growing up too fast. Childhood was a time of innocence and freedom, and she didn't even remember hers. Now, just barely sixteen, possibly pregnant, and sick, she sat in her seat aboard the capsule jet and felt sorrow take over her body. It was the bittersweet pain you feel when part of you is missing. She used to be so happy. Or so she thought.   
  
Her agitation grew to anger, and she longed to find the truth in the series of events that had taken place. Things everyone would normally take for granted were the same things Natalie wished for. Whenever she saw children with their mothers, a smile painted on their faces, she was hit with a warm, tickling sensation deep in her chest, and then it turned to despondency and feelings of regret that she could never quite explain. She was deeply furious with herself for all of her inadequacies and faults.   
  
"Hey..." Reena said, interrupting her thoughts. Natalie, now alert, looked to her right and gazed at her friend. As she looked at the girl, her mind wandered. Reena, quiet, somewhat shy, reserved, had a special air about her. She was classy, almost regal. Hell, Reena made a better princess than she did.   
  
"Natalie are you listening to me?" Reena interrupted Natalie's thought process once again. Natalie blinked and sat back in her seat to see someone out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see Mrs. Briefs standing next to her with the food cart.   
  
"Hello sweetie, what would you like to eat?" the woman asked, her sugary voice, high in pitch, ringing in Natalie's ears.  
  
"I don't mind." She answered. She was too tired to make any major decisions right now, food choice being one of them.   
  
"I'll just give you the same thing as Trunks over here." Mrs. Briefs offered. Natalie shook her head.   
  
"No thank you." She said politely. "I'll just have a sandwich then."  
  
"Alright here you go." Mrs. Briefs said, handing Natalie a plate wrapped in a thin, plastic seal. She punctured the covering with her fingernail and tore it open. There was a ham and cheese sandwich, and apple, and a bag of chips. She looked at Trunks' tray and saw three helpings of some kind of red meat. She knew better than to trust her appetite with that of his own.  
  
Reena ordered the same as her, and they ate their food quietly. It wasn't very good...too dry. Mrs. Briefs had forgotten to give them drinks. No matter, Natalie extended her hand in the air like a student in class. On her trip back, she finally stopped.  
  
"Do you need something?" she asked kindly.  
  
Natalie nodded. "Can I have something to drink?" she asked.   
  
"Oh I'm terribly sorry, hun." Mrs. Briefs said, digging in her container of capsules. "Here you go. And here's one for your friend too."  
  
Natalie took the capsules from Mrs. Briefs and handed one to Reena as she decompressed her own. When she saw the label on her can, she slumped in her seat. She had gotten root beer again.   
  
Trunks looked over at Natalie and saw her staring at a can of root bear in disgust. He looked back at his own: orange soda. He looked back at Natalie. He picked up his own can, studied it, and then held it out to her. She looked back at him with a startled expression, and then saw his offering.   
  
"What, is that for me?" she asked. Trunks nodded. "You're going to trade?" Trunks nodded again. Natalie grasped her own can and held it out to him, and they exchanged. Just as they did this, there was laughter from the back of the cabin. Natalie and Trunks both turned their heads to see Pan and Bra, giggling with their hands over their mouths. Natalie rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat, while Trunks shot them a glare and turned forward again. Stupid kids.   
  
  
Five hours later,  
Natalie was asleep again, and this time she was dreaming. She was at Capsule Corp. and she was pregnant. She was talking to Trunks about something, and then suddenly, it switched scenes. She was back to normal, but she was holding a baby in her arms. Suddenly, Trunks' facial expression changed and he had a wicked scowl on his face. She tried to step closer to him, but she realized he wasn't Trunks anymore. His eyes changed, became blue, and his hair, blonde. It was Ceres. She was mouthing something at her, but Natalie couldn't make it out. She took a step backward and held the baby to her chest, but she accidentally dropped the bundle, and it fell to the ground. Natalie tried to catch it, but she was frozen in place...paralyzed. Ceres started laughing and looked at Natalie with a look of disdain and a cruel smirk on her face. Natalie swore she looked like Orion just then. She finally broke free and ran to the baby, but the room stretched and warped, forming a long, endless hallway. She heard crying coming from down the corridor, and she started running. Her feet were heavy and her body was sluggish, but she continued running. Finally, she reached the end, and the crying stopped. Natalie looked around, the only sound she heard was her own breathing.   
  
"Momma?" came a voice. Natalie looked and saw a little girl in the corner. Purple hair. Green eyes. Clothes...just like hers. Natalie ran toward her, but something stepped in the way and shoved her back. When she regained her balance, she stood and looked at the form. It was a person. She didn't have to see the face to know who it was. That same person who had haunted her dreams so many times before. Natalie saw her frightened girl in the corner, and lunged for her. However, she was not quick enough. Kira was picked up by the figure and suspended into the air, a look of fear frozen on her face. Natalie tried to cry out but her voice was gone.   
  
"Momma!" she cried, struggling to get free. Natalie tried again, but she was knocked back and pinned to the ground. Kira continued to cry for help as her body dissolved into thin air. Natalie, not able to move, and not able to look away, watched in horror. Finally, Kira faded from existence, and Natalie, who was still pinned to the ground, opened her mouth to scream.   
  
Suddenly, Natalie was shoved back into reality. She sat straight up in her seat, breathing so heavily she thought she was going to choke, strands of hair matted to her forehead, and her eyes wide open. She still continued to convulse as she tried to catch her breath. She felt the weight of everyone's stares as she struggled to calm down. She wiped her forehead and sat back in her seat.   
  
She didn't sleep for the rest of the flight. In fact, she was too afraid to close her eyes. She stared at the ceiling of the plane, her senses dulled, her body worn, and her mind on the verge of collapsing. Nobody asked about her dream. She didn't know whether it was because they didn't want to mention it, or because they didn't care enough. She didn't want to know.   
  
They reached Japan after a couple more hours. The jet touched down on the runway, jerking everyone out of their sleep, trance, or just plain stupor. The whine of the engines lowered and dissipated as the jet came to a stop. Everyone shifted in their seats, unbuckling themselves and standing to stretch. Natalie shakily reached for her seatbelt and heard the clicking sound, meaning she was free. Her energy was drained. Her face remained flushed, and looked as if she had just finished a long distance run or a training session. She reached down and pulled her bag out from under her seat and promptly headed for the front of the jet. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned around, expecting to see Trunks, but she saw Goku.   
  
"N...nani?" she asked, stepping away. "Your hand is cold."  
  
"Natalie...are you okay? You have a lot of people worried." He said. Natalie smiled and sighed as she hung her head.  
  
"I wish people wouldn't worry about me." She said. "I'm fine. Just a little sick." She then turned and headed out the front of the jet, walking down the steps and planting her feet on the concrete. They were still stopped on the runway in the private airport that belonged to Capsule Corp. She sighed in relief. The house was within eyeshot. That meant it would take no time to reach home. She turned around to wait for the others and saw Goku step off, followed by Chi-Chi. Next came Gohan and a very tired Videl. Pan and Bra bounced down the stairs, full of energy. Next came Trunks, Goten, and Reena. There was a short break in between, and then came Ceres, and then Sirius. Bulma and a disgruntled Vegeta exited, and finally, Mrs. Briefs. Dr. Briefs stood in the doorway and cupped his hands to his mouth to amplify his voice.  
  
"I'm gonna park the jet in the hangar. You all head back." He said. Bulma looked up at her father and nodded, waved, and turned back to the group of people. She offered the son family a stay at Capsule Corp. for the day, but Gohan gestured to his wife, who looked sick herself, and said something about having to get home. Goku said he would teleport them instead of using the capsule car, which ruled out Goku and Chi-Chi. Goten was given a choice, and he chose to stay. With that settled, the remaining Briefs family walked back to Capsule Corp.   
  
Natalie was the first to enter, as she had walked slightly ahead of the group. She walked upstairs so fast she almost ran, threw her bags onto the floor, and jumped onto her bed, taking in the scent of her room and her home. If she looked at it logically, she had only been away from this place for a few days. But she felt like it had been an eternity. When she laid on her back, her overalls flat against her stomach, she noticed something. Something she hadn't noticed before...  
  
"Hey Nat." Trunks said, walking in, still holding his bags. "You got here in a hurry. Something the matter?"   
  
Natalie, her thoughts interrupted yet again by an outsider, looked up at him.   
  
"No, not really." She said, obviously lying. She shifted uncomfortably so that her legs rested against her chest, her arms wrapped around her knees.   
  
"Why won't you talk to me?" Trunks asked. "I'm worried about you."  
  
"Trunks do you notice anything about me that you never noticed before?" she asked, her voice slightly off pitch as she swallowed the lump in her throat.  
  
"No...besides the fact that you look sick." He answered. He walked further into the room and stood a few feet from her. "Why, is something wrong?" he asked.  
  
"Look at me. Very carefully." She said, standing up so that he could see her better. "What do you notice?"  
  
"For starters, I notice that you are very cute." Trunks said, smiling. Natalie's expression remained.   
  
"Trunks, you know what I mean." She said. She reached behind her and pulled on the back of her overalls so that they hugged her in the front. "Look at me."  
  
"I am Natalie." He said. "All I see is you."  
  
"You're not looking hard enough." Natalie said, pulling harder on her overalls so that they were almost skin-tight. Trunks still looked confused.   
  
Natalie, her frustration building, let go of her overalls and brought her hands up to the clasps, preparing to unhook then.  
  
"Uh Nat...can I put my bags away first?" he said nervously. Natalie ignored him and snapped the buttons loose, causing the straps and the stop part to fall. She held on to the waist to make sure they didn't go down to her ankles.   
  
"Look." She said sternly. Trunks was looking, but obviously in the wrong place, which caused Neko's anger to increase. "Not there." She hissed. Trunks blushed and looked back at her face.  
  
"Natalie, just tell me. I honestly don't see anything." He said.   
  
"You have to be lying." Natalie said. "How can you miss it?"   
  
Trunks grew impatient. "Natalie, just tell me!" he said.   
  
"Trunks..." Natalie began. She held her overalls up with her right hand, while her left released its grip on the fabric and brushed over her stomach, her palm lying flat just over her belly button.   
  
Trunks swallowed hard. He felt a lump building in his throat.   
  
"Now...do you see it?" she asked. 


	37. Chapter 37

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 37 - Trunks explains the past   
  
  
Trunks wasn't sure of how to react at first. Natalie, as he saw, was on the verge of tears. He wanted to tell her it was okay, but how could he say that when something like this would effect them for the rest of their lives. It wasn't something to look back on and laugh at. No. This stays with you.   
  
"Don't you have anything to say?" Natalie cried. "No words? Is that it?"  
  
Trunks cleared his throat and swallowed again, trying to think of something comforting to say.   
  
"Nat...you can't even see that." He said. "You pointed it out and I still don't see much."  
  
"Trunks!" Natalie exclaimed angrily. "That is not the point." She sat on her bed and gripped her hair in her hands as her head rested in her palms. "I thought it was all a lie." She said. Her voice fluttered slightly. "I really didn't think it would happen. How can it happen??"   
  
"I think you're just scaring yourself. You weren't...gone long enough...to be pregnant already." Trunks said.   
  
"How do you know how long I was gone?" Natalie asked. "You only know how many days I was missing. I could have been there...with him...for weeks, or months! Months Trunks. It has to be."  
  
"I still don't think - "   
  
"Because you're in denial." Natalie interrupted. "This is real, I'm afraid."  
  
"I know that." Trunks said calmly, trying to soothe Natalie's nerves. "Look Natalie..."  
  
Natalie looked up at him with red, tear-filled eyes.   
  
"Stand." Trunks said. Natalie did so, slowly. Trunks took one of her hands and held it up, causing her tank top to rise and reveal her stomach. "There is nothing there." He said.  
  
Natalie looked down. "Yes there is." She whispered.  
  
"No, there's not." Trunks continued. "You're imagining it. Let's get your mind off of this, ok?"  
  
"Trunks you're avoiding this issue." Natalie accused.   
  
"I am not avoiding anything. But, you can't worry for weeks on end, waiting for a resolution."  
  
Natalie, desperate, pulled her overalls back over her shoulders and snapped them.  
  
"I'm going to ask Bulma about it." She said. "She will have some way of knowing."  
  
"Not so fast, Nat." Trunks said. "We just got back. Wait a few minutes."  
  
"Well, in the meantime, I am going to cut my hair again." Natalie said, running her hand through her long brown hair, which extended just past the inward curve of her waist. "I see you and Goten already did that."  
  
"Hell yeah, I hate long hair." Trunks said, gesturing to his jaggedly cut strands. "I don't know how you can put up with it."  
  
"I'm not even going into the things I don't understand about guys." Natalie said. She held her hair in both of her hands at the point where she wanted to cut it. "Where is everyone else?"  
  
"Last I saw, Goten was helping Reena in one of the guestrooms." Trunks commented. "I don't know about Ceres or Sirius."   
  
"I can't believe that..." Natalie trailed off. "Goten and Reena I mean. They haven't known each other too long, have they?"  
  
"Not even a week." Trunks answered, realizing that Natalie's concept of time within the past few days wasn't exactly accurate, given that she had been confined in subspace for the equivalent of a couple of months.  
  
"And they are already that close. I can tell we're going to have a hard time keeping Goten away from Capsule Corp." Natalie joked. Trunks laughed, relieved that she was forgetting about the other pressing issues. He also noticed that Natalie was looking better by the minute.  
  
"Hey Nat are you feeling well?" Trunks asked. "Because you look a hell of a lot better than you did before we left."  
  
"Oh yes, much better." Natalie answered. "What time is it anyway? Probably around mid afternoon, considering the time difference between this place and Hawaii."   
  
"Yeah, probably." Trunks added. He looked down at Natalie's left hand and located the sparkling promise ring on her finger.   
  
"Trunks can I ask you a question?" Natalie inquired. "It's about Ceres."  
  
Trunks' initial reaction was to freeze. Had she somehow heard about what had happened in the gravity room before they left? She didn't believe it, did she?   
  
"Y-yes." Trunks stammered. "What about Ceres?"  
  
"Well..." Natalie said, "I think that Ceres has...well sort of a grudge against me. I don't really know why. I think I have an idea of it though."  
  
"You think so?" Trunks asked. "Why do you think that?"  
  
"This sounds crazy, but I think she was in love with Orion." Natalie answered. "I'm probably wrong, but I just had this feeling that-"  
  
"You're right." Trunks interrupted. "She was. Probably still is."  
  
"I...I am?" Natalie stumbled. "Did she tell you?"  
  
"Yes. The morning we left, she came into the gravity room just as I was starting to train, and...well you probably won't like this, but she started to hit on me." Trunks explained. Natalie didn't seem to react one way or another to that statement. She just focused and listened as Trunks continued. "And when I resisted, she did something to my short-term memory that made me forget what she had done. However, I don't know whether it's because of the time shift or what, but I started to regain those memories."  
  
"Yes, so then what?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Well she had told me that she was more or less angry because she was in love with him, but you were the one he cared for." Trunks continued. "My memory is still foggy, but I do remember that scene in which she told me."   
  
Natalie was silent. Ceres, her guardian, and her friend, was in love with the same person who killed innocent people and even possibly impregnated her against her will. If Ceres had loved him, he must have been a totally different person on Vela. She struggled to remember, but it was useless.  
  
"Trunks, I wish I could remember." Natalie said softly. "I just want to be able to look back on those memories. I don't know where they went."  
  
"I don't either Natalie." Trunks said. "I'm sorry, I wish I could help."  
  
"Tell me what happened, when you came to...well save me." She said, blushing slightly. "How did you do it?"  
  
"Your friends did it." Trunks said. "After you disappeared, --"  
  
"I don't even remember that. I have one cloudy memory of waking up and seeing a shadow hover over me, and everything was dark." Natalie interrupted.  
  
"Hours after you were gone, those three, as if they were on cue, just showed up. They explained what had happened, a concept which kaasan had already elaborated on, to some extent." Trunks explained. "They told us that we would have to travel back in time, to the day you were killed on Vela, and something like record Hermes' energy output and then return to the present to trace it. I'm not sure about all of the calculations and decisions made there, I just know that Ceres and Sirius did that part."  
  
"You went to Vela?" Natalie asked, her eyes widening slightly. Trunks nodded.  
  
"You should have seen it. Well, indirectly you did. But you know what I mean, right?" he asked. "It was a lot like Earth. But, the population was more advanced, technology was far greater, and even the common people had a power level of at least 5 thousand."  
  
"So did you see any...people?" Natalie asked. Trunks could tell that she was hinting.  
  
"Lots." Trunks answered. "I remember that the first person we saw was Orion."  
  
"Who else?" Natalie asked.  
  
"We saw your parents, your three guardians in their younger forms, and we even saw you as princess Carina. Believe me, that was weird." Trunks said, smiling. "And we ran into you in one of the hallways in the castle, and you introduced yourself, and you asked me what my name was. I said it was Kakarotto."   
  
Natalie giggled. "Tell me more."  
  
"We were sneaking around everywhere at first, petrified that we would be caught by the guards, or even your parents. But, as luck would have it, we ran into you and Orion." Trunks said.  
  
"Orion was there?" Natalie asked, looking at him strangely. "Why?"  
  
"Don't you know this, even from what he told you when he came to earth? You two were basically going to end up married. When we went, you weren't even engaged, but it was evident that you would have been." Trunks replied. Natalie made a face. She obviously didn't like that idea. "Well if you think that's bad, try this. There was a party that night, and we all went because we had to keep ourselves in the same general vicinity as you were, because we had to be prepared when Hermes would strike. Well, the girls all had escorts. I assume you know who yours was."   
  
"Yeah, yeah." Natalie said. "I know all about how we were supposed to be a 'couple'. Ceres told me, actually."  
  
"You two were close, Nat." Trunks said. "I'm glad Goten and Sirius were there, because there was more than one occasion in which I almost lost it. It was a close call."  
  
"What happened next?" she asked, her eyes filled with the curiosity of a child.   
  
"Well..." Trunks said, pausing. "That would be the part where everyone dies."  
  
"Everyone??" she cried.  
  
"Okay, okay. Let me explain it. You and Orion, for whatever reason, left the party early. Just minutes after you did, there was a bright flash of light and everyone inside the room panicked. It turns out that Hermes had taken the opportunity while you were alone, or almost, to...kill." Trunks said, trying to spit out the last few words. "The five of us all ran out and saw it. It wasn't something you see every day. You'll never believe what Orion did."  
  
"What, did he go ballistic and kill everyone?" Natalie asked.   
  
"No." Trunks said. "He cried."  
  
Natalie's jaw dropped open. "You lie." She said. "There is no way in hell."  
  
"I swear. You can ask any of the others. We all saw it." Trunks said. "After that, Hermes started to go crazy. He killed your father and attempted to kill the younger guardians as they escaped. After we left, he ended up blowing the planet to pieces."  
  
"Oh man." Natalie said, stunned. "That's awful. God, it's...I don't know what to say."  
  
"So then we escaped in a Sidra-jin space pod and returned to the future and found Hermes' base, or what we thought to be his base, on the moon of Vela," Trunks said, "which apparently survived the explosion. When we landed on the moon, Andromeda I think it was called, we searched for some kind of physical structure, but there was nothing. It was so weird, because we could sense the power from somewhere on the moon, but none of us could figure out where it was coming from. I'll never forget that feeling. That energy...it was the kind that made your hairs stand on end. We were five people on the desolate, barren moon. There was nothing around, except for that energy."  
  
"I remember that energy." Natalie whispered. "I remember the feeling it gave me when he attacked me with that black light."  
  
"We were all sucked into this void, and we ended up in that large room. I think it was all one room. Either that or several rooms joined together. The next thing I know, the Saiya-jins, Goten, me, and Sirius, we all had tails. We didn't even know Sirius was a Saiya-jin until then." Trunks continued. "Then we saw Hermes. That's how it started."  
  
"I can't believe you remember all that, and I remember nothing." Natalie complained.   
  
"You weren't in control of your body for most of the time we were there." Trunks said. "In the very beginning you were, but Hermes changed you. He took away your conscious free will. The only reason you lived was because he preserved your life energy in some kind of marble thing. Orion had one too."  
  
"Trunks, what happened to Orion?" Natalie asked, sitting straight up.   
  
"What do you mean? He died." Trunks replied.  
  
"But so did you, temporarily, as did the others. If you came back, then why didn't he? Or didn't he?" Natalie said. Trunks looked at her. She was right in the logic of it.   
  
"But we don't sense him." Trunks said.  
  
"He might be on another planet. Who knows." Natalie countered. "Why did he die?"  
  
"Well basically Hermes killed him and took over his body, and then you killed him in that form. The black hole finished off whatever remained of him. Now that was not something you would want to see." Trunks said.   
  
"I am worried now." Natalie said. "He could still very well be alive. And if he is, what would his motives be? Would he remember anything?"   
  
"I'm not sure, Nat. Nobody can be sure." Trunks answered. "It's best not to worry. If he does come back, which would make three times, I don't think he would be too much of a threat."  
  
"That's not what I'm worried about." Natalie said. "Not too much. I'm worried because if he does return, what will we do? We can't kill him. From what you tell me he was one of the good guys on Vela."  
  
"Well yes." Trunks said. "But if he comes back one of the bad ones-"  
  
"I don't think he will." Natalie said. "His father made him that way. Orion, in a sense, must have been brainwashed as well before he came to Earth. That's the only reasonable explanation to that. If he were to come back for the third time, not of his father's doing, he would not retain that evil."  
  
"Nat how on Earth do you figure that?" Trunks asked.  
  
"I just know it." She replied. "It's logical, Trunks. It's not a hard concept. I'm still curious to what his motives would be. Would he still be looking for me, or would he assume I was dead? If he did, and he eventually found his way to Earth, what would we do?"  
  
"Natalie stop worrying over this." Trunks said. "We can do that when the time comes. Right now, we worry about the present and not so distant future."  
  
"You know what I find weirdest out of all of this?" Natalie asked.   
  
"What's that?" Trunks replied.  
  
"I remember them...Sirius, Ceres, Reena. I remember them as if I had always known them, which I did, but without memories, it doesn't seem to make sense." She described. "When I woke up yesterday, on that beach, it was just like I knew, without having to say anything. I even knew that Sirius was my brother. I just knew all of them that instant."  
  
"That is pretty weird." Trunks commented.   
  
"I know."   
  
"You know what?"   
  
"What?"  
  
"We've been in here for over 20 minutes."  
  
"I know that."  
  
"Don't you want to go see kaasan?"  
  
"Later, I will."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"I'm positive. Thank you for talking to me Trunks."  
  
"Any time, Nat-chan." 


	38. Chapter 38

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 38 - Battle of the Sexes   
  
  
Goten was helping Reena and Ceres move into one of the guestrooms on the second floor of Capsule Corp., right next to the room Natalie stayed in. Sirius, on the other hand, was on his own, as he preferred to be.   
  
"Who cut your hair Goten?" Reena asked, looking at him crookedly.  
  
"Well...I did." Goten replied. "Why, does it look bad or something?"  
  
Reena giggled. "No. I just think it's cute the way your hair falls down over your eyes when you move your head a certain way."  
  
Goten blushed and produced a slightly embarrassed smile.  
  
"Uh...thanks." He said. Reena nodded.  
  
"Carina told me that we would have to go shopping as soon as we came here." Reena commented, looking at the empty closet and then down at her own clothes, which were borrowed from Natalie.  
  
"You mean Nat?" Goten asked.  
  
"Natalie...yes sorry." Reena corrected herself. "It's an adjustment."  
  
"Yeah I guess she doesn't like her old name." Goten said. "Or...something."  
  
"I wonder if I should change my name." Reena wondered aloud, looking up at the ceiling.   
  
"No." Goten answered, almost too quickly. "That is...well I like your name. Reena."  
  
Reena looked at him. "Really?" she asked. Goten nodded in reply and Reena smiled cutely as she cocked her head to the side slightly.  
  
"In that case I guess it stays." She said. Ceres, who had been rearranging things around the room, looked over at the pair. Her face was emotionless as she stared at them.  
  
"Ceres is something wrong?" Goten asked, looking past Reena and at the blonde-haired girl. Ceres blinked and looked up at him.  
  
"Nani? Oh...no. Gomen." She apologized. "My mind just...left or something."  
  
"Oh, well if you need help don't worry about asking, ok?" Goten offered. Ceres nodded emptily and turned back to what she was doing. Goten and Reena exchanged glances and then continued as well.  
  
Sirius was sitting in another guestroom, which was on the first floor, deep in thought. He could hear the muffled voices of Goten and Reena above him, seeing as the room was directly overhead. The end of his tail was twitching, not to his knowledge, as he stared out the window. Where was he going to go? Living here forever didn't seem like the best plan. But there weren't many other options he had to choose from. The only people he knew on this planet were the other guardians and his sister.   
  
Just as he thought this, Natalie popped in.  
  
"Hi Sirius, you ok? Is this room too small?" she asked, taking a few steps into the room and pacing her arms behind her back.  
  
"No, it's fine." He said.   
  
"Because Reena, Ceres and I are going out, and so I was going to ask you to come with us." Natalie continued. "If you want, that is."  
  
"Sorry, I'm going to pass." Sirius said. Natalie nodded and walked out, shutting the door behind her.   
  
"Is he coming?" Reena asked, standing next to the front door. Natalie shook her head no and continued walking out the front and into the front yard of Capsule Corp.   
  
"Nope, he wants to stay here. I don't really blame him, what guy really wants to go shopping with three girls?" Natalie explained.  
  
"Well...I don't know." Ceres said, looking around. "Who has the money?"   
  
"Oh, I do." Natalie said, pointing to her pocket. "We can go crazy. I haven't even been shopping since last year, because I usually wear the same type of thing."  
  
"You'll have to help us, Natalie." Reena said. "Because we aren't familiar with clothing here."  
  
"Don't worry, I'm sure the style can't be too much different."   
  
  
Three hours later, Goten and Sirius were training in the gravity room, and Trunks was watching them as he handled the controls. Sirius' goal was to go super Saiya-jin. None of them knew exactly what level Sirius was at when it came to fighting, but they guessed it wasn't very much, seeing as his strongpoint was psychic power instead of brute strength. And, if he could build his skills to at least super Saiya-jin level one, combined with his other powers, he would prove to be a formidable warrior.  
  
They continued sparring for a few more minutes when there was a knock on the door of the gravity room. Trunks, who was in the immediate area, shut off the gravity and walked to the door. Goten and Sirius, covered in sweat, walked over to see who it was.   
  
"Hey Trunks!" came a voice as the door opened. Natalie stepped into the room, arms full of shopping bags. Just then, Ceres and Reena stepped in, their arms full as well. "We did really good today."  
  
"That's nice Nat." Trunks said, impressed at the size of their purchases. He couldn't fathom the ability to shop on hours end for clothing, and knew that it was best not to question it.  
  
"You should see some of this stuff. Good thing we took Bulma-san's credit card. I don't think we could have carried that much money in our pockets." Natalie continued. "I was reluctant to spend so much, but Bulma said we didn't have to worry about it since we all needed new clothes. I think you guys should have come, but that's just me."  
  
"Yeah, just you." Goten commented. "I just wear whatever my mom comes home with."  
  
"Hah!" Natalie said, pointing a finger at him accusingly. "What are you going to do when you move out one of these days? Depend on your kaasan for clothes?"  
  
"No..." Goten defended. "I'll just get them myself. It can't be too hard."  
  
"Sure. Sure." Natalie said. "We're going back inside to get this stuff unpacked. If you guys are LUCKY we'll wear some of it around you." And with that, the three girls walked back out of the gravity room and back inside the living quarters of Capsule Corp.   
  
"Uh...huh." Sirius trailed off. "Trunks, this what you live with, is it?"  
  
"Yeah." He replied. "It's not to bad. You'll get used to it, I'm sure."  
  
"Don't worry." Sirius said. "I've lived with her for 14 years. How much different can she be?"   
  
  
"REENA!" Natalie cried as Reena stood in front of her, wearing one of the outfits she had purchased earlier. "It's great! You had better be careful with this one."  
  
"Why is that?" the purple-haired girl asked.   
  
"You'll have to beat the guys away with a stick, and poor Goten out there might get a tad jealous." Natalie teased. "It's really a good outfit Reena."  
  
"Well...thanks, I guess." Reena said. "Ceres, have to tried yours on yet?"   
  
"Nope." Ceres answered.   
  
"Why not? You have some great stuff too." Natalie said. "Or, do you want to go in the bathroom to change? We don't mind, it's not like we're looking anyway."  
  
"It's not that." Ceres said. "I just don't think I look as good in mine."  
  
"B...but Ceres!" Natalie stammered. "You're the one who has the most going for you up top, if you know what I mean." She gestured to the girls' torso, specifically, her chest. "Don't tell me you don't think your clothes look every bit as good."  
  
"I'm just not sure." Ceres continued. "You two finish trying your stuff on, I'll just sit here."  
  
"No way." Natalie said, walking over and placing her hands on Ceres' shoulders. "Now here's your problem, Ceres. You're so hard on yourself, you can't accept one compliment when it's given. This isn't an insult, it's just friendly advice. I want you to start thinking about all the things you have going for you instead of all the things you have going against you."  
  
Ceres, who was rather shocked, just nodded her head. "If you say so, princess."  
  
"On Earth, Ceres, I am just Natalie. That's all I expect to be called, ok?" she continued. "I think it would be somewhat weird if you called me princess in public, don't you?"  
  
"N-no...but-"   
  
"No but's." Natalie interrupted. "Just Natalie. And if you get mat at me, Natalie Holmes. Or Nat for short. No Carina, no princess, no highness, no majesty, just Natalie."  
  
"Okay, Natalie." Ceres said. "You can take your hands off of my shoulders now."  
  
"Alright." Natalie said, smiling and dropping her hands by her sides. "Now try on those clothes, Ceres, I want to see."  
  
  
Trunks, Goten, and Sirius were standing outside Natalie's door, listening to the girls converse.  
  
"What do you suppose they're doing in there?" Trunks asked, leaning his ear against the wall.   
  
"Maybe they're doing their nails or something." Goten proposed. "Isn't that what girls do when they're together?"  
  
"No, you idiot." Trunks whispered harshly. "They're styling their hair."  
  
"Actually..." Sirius interjected. "They're probably just trying on clothes."  
  
"What makes you so sure?" Trunks asked, looking at the Saiya-jin hybrid suspiciously.  
  
"Maybe the fact that they came home with about a dozen bags?" Sirius said sarcastically. "Of course, I could be mistaken."  
  
"Very funny." Trunks retorted. "Well whatever they're doing, they take a long time."  
  
"Are you sure we don't have anything better to do?" Sirius asked, looking around. "Something more entertaining than this?"  
  
"What do you mean? This is quality entertainment." Goten commented. "You never know what happens next."  
  
"You never know what happens period. You can't see them, you can hardly hear them, and you don't know what they're thinking." Sirius explained. "I don't see what the big deal is with that."  
  
"Well you can read minds, right?" Trunks asked. "What are they thinking?"  
  
"I can't just read their minds like that." Sirius said. "They have natural...mental blocks, you might call it. So, in other words, I can only read the minds of beings with less evolved minds. No offense."  
  
"We're evolved!" Goten responded. "We're Saiya-jins."  
  
"My point exactly." Sirius said.   
  
"Well if Saiya-jins are so...primitive, how come you're so great, being one yourself?" Trunks asked. "You can't insult the race if you're one of them."  
  
"I wasn't insulting the race. I know I am Saiya-jin but I'm still part Sidra-jin, and hybrids usually have a more advanced edge to them anyway." Sirius said. "I didn't mean to start an argument."  
  
"You guys!!"  
  
All three boys turned around to see a pissed off Natalie stranding in the doorway with Ceres and Reena on either side of her.  
  
"Would you shut up? We can hear you guys arguing from inside the room! What are you guys doing out here anyway, trying to prove who's more manly? After all, isn't that what guys do when they're together?" Natalie spoke, and the walked back into the room, slamming the door behind her.  
  
Trunks, Goten, and Sirius stared at the closed door for a few minutes before shrugging and continuing their conversation.  
  
"Hey they looked good in those clothes." Goten said. "Well, I guess you were right Sirius."  
  
"Of course I was right." He said.   
  
"Hey let's get them to come back out." Trunks said. "Come on."  
  
"Why do you want to do that?" Sirius asked.   
  
Trunks and Goten looked at each other, and then at Sirius.   
  
"Are you sure you're Saiya-jin?" they asked simultaneously. Just then, the girls walked back out. Natalie and Reena had their arms folded, and Ceres had her fists rested on her hips. All three Saiya-jin hybrids took on the look of "what did we do" and stood in alignment with each other.  
  
"I can't believe you guys didn't notice." Natalie said.   
  
"Isn't it obvious?" Reena asked.  
  
"You must be blind." Ceres accused.  
  
The three guys gulped and tried to think of what they were talking about. However, this was to no avail.  
  
"We got our hair cut!" Natalie spat. "We got rid of almost two feet of hair, and you didn't even notice?"  
  
"Well...we weren't paying attention." Sirius said defensively. "We don't look for things like that."  
  
"Oh so what do you look for, Saiya-jin?" she said, pointing her finger accusingly at her brother.   
  
"Whoa, Nat..." Trunks interrupted, stepping between them. "You don't have to get angry. We made a stupid mistake."  
  
"I'll say you did." She retorted, folding her arms. She honestly couldn't believe that they had not even noticed that their haircuts were all shorter. Then again, they were boys, and they were stupid.  
  
"Oh whatever, I don't want to argue over something so pointless." Trunks said, and stepped out from in between the siblings.   
  
"It's not pointless." Natalie said. "It means that you guys don't pay attention to us, and you probably aren't even listening to me right now. You're too busy thinking about cars and money and whatever else you guys think about."  
  
"Nat..." Trunks started, sighing in frustration and dropping his hands to his sides.  
  
"Well it's true! Maybe if you three could at least pretend you care enough, it would make things slightly better, but you can't even do that!" Natalie complained.   
  
"Guys and girls make mistakes!" Trunks argued. "Stop fretting over something so trivial and pointless as a haircut and get over it already, so you can worry about things that actually matter."  
  
"Fine...fine whatever." Natalie said, throwing her arms out to the side and sighing in extreme frustration. She turned and walked back into the room where Ceres and Reena had already departed to. When she shut the door again, two pairs of Sidra-jin blue eyes met her.  
  
"Natalie-sama, are you sure you're okay?" Ceres asked.   
  
"I'm fine. Don't call me sama." She spat, slumping onto the bed. "I'm just so pissed off that those guys, especially Trunks, just seem to be too busy for us girls; they don't even give us the time of day."  
  
"That's not true, you know it." Ceres argued. "Sometimes people forget to notice things like that, or they just don't mention it because they don't see fit. It doesn't mean they pay any less attention to you."  
  
"You make it sound like I want to be the center of attention." Natalie accused. "Well I don't. In fact, I'm tired of being the center of attention. I don't know why I have changed so much since I was younger, but I have, and now I hate the way I am."  
  
"Actually, you're not too much different from when you lived on Vela-sei." Reena pointed out. "So don't make assumptions like that. Stop worrying so much, you and Trunks, you two will be fine. Don't worry about the other boys because me and Ceres can handle them."   
  
"I don't know why I'm so mad either, but I am, and I'm sure there is a legitimate, underlying reason for it." Natalie said. "You two handle them, I'll handle myself, and Trunks can do whatever the hell he likes."  
  
"Well that's exactly what he was doing, which is what you were mad about in the first place." Ceres said. "You should give him some space, don't smother him."  
  
"I don't smother Trunks!" Natalie snapped. "I do give him space! What, am I some kind of annoying pest just because I like to be around him, and because I want him to notice things about me, like the fact that I cut my hair?"  
  
"I didn't say that, but-"  
  
"No but's!" Natalie interjected, folding her arms and glaring angrily at the two girls. "Trunks takes it for granted that I'll always be there when he needs me."  
  
"What are you saying?" Reena asked.  
  
"I'm saying that maybe I should just leave for a while." Natalie answered.  
  
"How long is a while?" The purple-haired girl inquired suspiciously. She knew that Carina, when they were younger, tended to exaggerate and go to extremes to make a point, which is what worried her about this particular situation.  
  
"I don't know." Natalie said. "I just need...to think. That's all."   
  
As Natalie jumped out the window, landed on the ground, and walked in the opposite direction, Ceres and Reena looked at each other.  
  
"Hard to imagine she is the same one who is responsible for our existence." Ceres commented.   
  
"What do you mean by that?" Reena asked.  
  
"You know what I mean. She brought us back to life. After the fight, anyway." Ceres answered. "I don't understand why she is so testy lately. Do you think it's because she's...well, pregnant?"  
  
"No, she's not." Reena stated. "She's not pregnant."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I don't know." Reena said, looking out the window and at the sky. "But I am sure...that she isn't." 


	39. Chapter 39

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 39 - The Not so Super Saiyajin  
  
  
Natalie sat against a tree near the edge of the backyard, looking to her left with an irritated expression on her face. The male species of any race never ceased to baffle her mind. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, which were pulled to her chest. Her tail was partially wrapped around her left ankle and the end of it twitched slightly to prove her annoyance.   
  
"Hey Natalie?" a voice spoke. Natalie turned her head to the right and saw Goku and Gohan standing about 20 feet from where she sat.  
  
"Nani?" she replied, studying them.   
  
"Well we were training in the mountains and decided to stop by." Goku answered. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine. I'm just thinking about some things." She answered.  
  
"You don't look fine. You look mad." Goku observed. "Did Vegeta, or Trunks do it?"  
  
"Kakarotto..." Natalie began. "I really don't understand your concern. But-"  
  
"Do you want to train with us?" Gohan interrupted, sensing her frustration.  
  
"Say what?" Natalie said, not sure she heard him correctly.   
  
"Well do you or don't you? I thought I'd ask, seeing as you're angry about something, and training usually alleviates stress." Gohan repeated himself. Natalie stood, brushing the loose grass off of her legs and tail and looked over at the two.   
  
"I don't see why not." She said. "But I thought you guys wanted to visit."  
  
"Yeah, we'll get around to it." Goku said. "Come on, we can go back to where Gohan and I were just a few minutes ago."  
  
"Sure thing." Natalie said. As they took off into the air, she paused for a minute, watching Goku's vapor trail. She knew why he was regarded as the strongest fighter in the universe. Not only did he have the sheer strength, but the wisdom and compassion for others. A typical boy next door. She just didn't understand why someone like him would worry himself over someone like her. After a few more seconds of thought, Natalie jumped into the air and set her pace to follow.  
  
  
Inside, Ceres and Reena were continuing to unpack their new clothes and put them away in the closet of the room that they shared.   
  
"Well I guess we're stuck here for a while." Ceres commented, folding a shirt and placing it into a drawer.   
  
"Oh it's not so bad, Ceres." Reena said. "We're lucky they accepted us in."  
  
"Yeah whatever." She sighed. "Even so, what do we do now? Just sit around all day? There has to be something. I don't really know what my purpose here is."  
  
"What do you mean?" Reena asked.   
  
"Well, on Vela, we had a job. You know that." Ceres explained. Reena nodded her head. "Now, there is no monarchy, except for the prince and princess, and we don't have a purpose."  
  
"Of course we do." Reena said. "We don't have to base our lives on the lives of them. Besides, Carina, or Natalie said herself that she didn't want us as guardians anymore."  
  
"That's not the point." Ceres argued. "So what do we do now?"  
  
"Well, we'll probably receive some form of schooling." Reena began. "And we have the facilities here to train. We can enhance our abilities. We can start families." She continued, blushing slightly.  
  
"I'm not starting a family with an earthling." Ceres retorted. "I'd rather stay single for the rest of my life."  
  
"Ceres, it's not all bad." Reena said. "Besides, there are others..."  
  
"Like who?" Ceres interrupted. "All of the Saiya-jins are married, engaged, or otherwise taken."  
  
"No, Sirius isn't." Reena said timidly.  
  
"Sirius??" Ceres cried. "There is no way. We have grown up together, and we're nothing more than friends. Got it?"  
  
"Gomen." Reena said. She didn't understand Ceres' sudden outburst, but she paid it no mind.   
  
  
Trunks, Goten, and Sirius were all training once again. Instead of gravity training, they were just using the larger, enclosed training area.   
  
"So Trunks..." Goten started. "You and Natalie are gonna get married aren't you?"  
  
"Yep." Trunks answered plainly.   
  
"When?" Goten asked, dodging one of Trunks' ki blasts.   
  
"I don't know. She's only sixteen, so probably not anytime soon." Trunks replied.  
  
"You know that Sidra-jin women marry young, don't you?" Sirius interrupted. It was obvious he had now accepted the fact that Trunks and Natalie shared a strong bond and they were not going to separate.  
  
"Well yeah, but-"  
  
"If she were still on Vela, she would probably already be married." He continued.   
  
"Damn, that is young." Goten observed. But when he saw in image of Reena in his head, his thought process changed. "But what's the harm in that, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, we know what you're thinking Goten." Trunks said, smirking.   
  
"Shut up, Trunks.." Goten said, trying to hide the fact that he was blushing profusely. As Sirius laughed at the both of them, they stopped and turned to face him.  
  
"Well what about you Sirius?" Trunks asked.   
  
"What about me?" the Sidra-jin hybrid asked.   
  
"You know. When are you going to find a mate?" Trunks continued. "You can't stay single forever."  
  
Sirius facefaulted and his eye twitched. "What are you talking about? I don't want a mate from Earth."  
  
"You're bound to hook up with someone around here." Goten said. "There's always Ceres."  
  
"No way!" Sirius barked. "Ceres is just a friend and fellow guardian. Not a mate."  
  
"Are you sure about that?" Trunks asked. "I think you two would make a great couple. She's single, you're single, so why not?"  
  
"Because, Saiya-jin, I said so. Besides, she's still infatuated with someone." Sirius defended.   
  
"Orion? Oh she'll get over him when she's busy worrying about you." Trunks offered. "I think you should consider it."  
  
"No, but I'll tell you what I will consider." Sirius said, smirking.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Kicking your Saiya-jin ass." He said, getting into a defensive stance. Trunks took his stance as well and began to power up.  
  
"There's no use in you doing that." Sirius said. "Because I put a barrier on your ki while you were too distracted to notice."  
  
"You son of a-...how on Earth do you do that?" Trunks protested, trying to power up, but finding it useless.  
  
"I can't explain that concept to someone like you, because you can't grasp it." Sirius said. "I'm not trying to be cocky or anything, but Sidra-jins do have the advantage when it comes to psychic powers. More so that any other race."  
  
"Well how come Natalie can't do those sorts of things, she's one of you." Goten asked.   
  
"Who's to say she can't?" Sirius asked. "She probably just doesn't know how. She was trained by Saiya-jins, after all. And she had lost pretty much all abilities that she had when she came to Earth. Now she has to gain them back."  
  
"I don't know if I want her to gain that back..." Trunks trailed off.  
  
  
Natalie, Goku, and Gohan finally arrived at their destination in the mountains. There was a cool wind blowing, which rustled Natalie's hair, blowing loose strands into her face much to her annoyance.  
  
"What now?" she asked, folding her arms.  
  
"Well you can train with Gohan or I, whichever one you want." Goku said. "First, let's see you go super Saiya-jin." Natalie nodded and increased her ki, waiting for the transformation. However, this time was different, because the changes never took place. Natalie, in disbelief, looked down at her hands. Why wasn't it working? She tried it again, this time getting angrier, but nothing happened. Then, she realized it. She must have lost the ability to go super Saiya-jin after the fight with Hermes! She let out a frustrated cry and sank to her knees.   
  
"What's wrong, can't you transform?" Goku asked.   
  
"No..." she said bitterly. "I can't."  
  
"Well don't worry about it then. Let's just stay in our normal forms." Gohan said. Natalie stood again and brushed herself off, facing the younger of the two warriors.  
  
"I've lost my abilities." She said, looking at the ground in shame.   
  
"No you haven't." Goku said. "They just come as easy to you right now. Once you get going, you'll be fine."  
  
"Kakarotto-san...I tried." She cried. Tears welled up in her eyes and she felt like a pathetic failure.   
  
Goku looked over at his son, who nodded quickly and turned back to Natalie. After a fleeting moment, Gohan rushed at her. She looked up just in time and jumped out of the way. Gohan skidded to a halt and went in for the attack again. She continually dodged him until he finally managed to catch her wrist and twist her arm into a position so that she could not move without experiencing excruciating pain.  
  
"I give." Natalie said. "Let go."  
  
"Iie." Gohan said. "You never give. Keep trying."  
  
Natalie, extremely frustrated at this point, gritted her teeth and struggled, trying to block the pain. He still didn't budge, and she felt helpless, which was a feeling she loathed. As her anger grew, so did her ki. Goku and Gohan obviously sensed this, and were waiting for her to reach the crucial point.  
  
"Can't free yourself, can you?" Gohan sneered, trying to push her to the edge. Natalie didn't reply. Her back was facing him and therefore, she did not have to look at his face. Instead she looked at the ground with narrowed, tear-stained eyes, trying to work her arm out of the position is was in. "Maybe you should give up if you really don't think you can do it."  
  
Natalie was boiling. She felt the fire inside her chest burning to get out as she held her breath, her pulse quickening. She had to prove herself as a Saiya-jin, even if she was only a half-breed. Goku and Gohan were legends...and the last thing she wanted to do was appear to be weak in their eyes.  
  
"Come on Natalie." Goku said, trying to encourage her.   
  
"I'm not holding on too tight, it should be easy." Gohan added, half-heartedly. He knew it was only partially true, but sometimes, little white lies were necessary in life.   
  
"It's...not...easy..." Natalie managed to spit out between clenched teeth. "I...can't..."  
  
"Yeah, you can." Gohan continued. "You can."  
  
She continued to struggle, her ki increasing so fast that her head throbbed. Just as she thought her heart would explode in her chest, Gohan faltered. He allowed his grip to loosen ever-so-slightly. Natalie, instinctively sensing this change, literally ripped her hand from his grasp. Enraged, she reeled back and slammed her fist straight into Gohan's chest, impacting with a sickening crunch. Gohan went sailing backward while Natalie, her rage at its peak, went in for the kill. She sprang into the air and pounced on her unfortunate victim as he was landing, sending them both skidding backward until their momentum was stopped by a tree. Gohan exploded his ki and send Natalie flying, but she stopped herself mid-air and glared lethally at him. In a matter of moments, she was upon him again, and her hands went for a key target: the neck. Gohan, however, stopped her before she could accomplish her goal and grabbed both of her wrists, holding them in place about six inches from his face.   
  
"Natalie, stop." Gohan said, tightening his grip. Natalie growled and jumped into the air, bringing her feet together and kicking him in the same spot that her fist had hit just moments ago. Gohan cried out in pain and clutched his chest, leaving himself open for attack. She took the opportunity and did a low kick into his side, causing him to spin in almost a complete circle, his body reeling around to face her. She powered a ki blast, the energy pulsating in her palm as an evil smirk formed on her lips. With deadly accuracy, she aimed her attack at him. Gohan, however, stood and calmly faced her, dropping his guard. Taken by surprise, Natalie stood in place, her eyes locked on to his form, but she was confused.  
  
"Why are you backing down?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.   
  
"Attack me." He said. She didn't respond. "Go on."  
  
Natalie hesitated. Unconsciously, she allowed her attack to dissipate and her arms dropped to her sides. When she realized what she had done, she knew that she was indeed a failure.   
  
"What are you waiting for?" Gohan asked.   
  
"No." Natalie said, turning her head away ashamedly. "I can't."  
  
"Why not?" Gohan cried. "You can't stop just because I did. Keep going."  
  
"I said NO!" Natalie screamed. "I.. I can't deal with this anymore! I'm through with training. I can't control my anger...and I can't control my power."  
  
"That's why you are here to learn." Goku said, stepping into the conversation. "Nobody is born with the ability to control their ki to the best of their ability. Unfortunately, you lost some of that ability when time shifted."  
  
"I'll learn later. Right now, I just need to go home." She said, turning around and looking in the direction from which she had come. Someone grabbed her arm and she turned around to see Gohan with a ki blast charging in his hand.  
  
"You stay, or I'll fire this at you." He threatened. Natalie's eyes widened for a transitory moment and she wanted to run, but deep down she knew better. Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, she turned back around and faced him.  
  
"I dare you." She said in a low tone.   
  
"Kamehameha!" he cried, shooting the massive attack in her direction. The blinding light shot at her at incredible speed, incinerating everything in its path. Natalie, powering up her ki shield, jumped into the attack and held up her forearms, crossed over her face, and pushed it back. Gohan fueled more power into it and the attack grew in size and intensity. Natalie, in turn, had to increase the power in her ki shield as her body was pushed backward by the sheer force. She dug her heels into the dirt and tried to keep her footing, but she was rapidly losing her grip on the Earth.   
  
"Akiyah..." she shouted, the power of her ki shield draining her body and condensing into her palms. She tapped into her reserves, performing an attack she hadn't used in months, and screamed as hard as her lungs would allow. "...MEH!" The energy erupted from her hands and shot out like lightning. It pushed back Gohan's blast and grew ever-closer. Gohan put more into his, and started to push hers back. Natalie, driven by anger and Saiya-jin instincts, screamed and gave it everything she had. The crackle of the opposing energy masses intensified as Natalie started to overtake the kamehameha. Just when she thought she had made it, Gohan's attack strengthened and Natalie was beaten. The beam sliced through her attack and slammed into her body, sending her into the air with an impact explosion. With no life-energy left, she fell unconscious before she was drilled into the ground by the shockwave, shattering her ribcage and snapping her spine. 


	40. Chapter 40

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 40 - Breaking the News  
  
  
Natalie woke up in the rejuvenation tank just as the water was being drained. As her memories returned to her, she remembered the reason for her being here. The first pair of eyes she met were not blue. They were black.   
  
Gohan helped the wet, shaken girl out of the tank and supported her shaky body as she struggled to stand.   
  
"Natalie..." he began, his eyes filled with guilt.   
  
"No, Gohan." She interrupted. She stood away from him, showing that she was not weak after all. "Don't apologize."  
  
"I almost killed you." He said. "I shouldn't have used that attack."  
  
"I feel stronger already." She commented, flexing her muscles. It was explained that she had been brought back to Capsule Corp. and given an alternative form of the senzu bean, administered through an IV. She was then placed into the rejuvenation tank to finish the healing process and clean her up. Naturally, since she had been through worse, there had been no doubt that she would survive. And, since none of her major organs or nerve systems had been damaged in the fight, there was no evidence that she had even come close to death.  
  
As soon as she dried off, she returned to the living quarters with Gohan to change into some drier clothes. As she headed upstairs, she saw Trunks standing at the end of the hallway with concern written all over his face.   
  
"Nat!" he cried. Natalie looked up at him. "You're okay."  
  
"Yes, I am." She replied simply.   
  
"You had me worried sick." He said. He walked over to her and slipped his arm around her waist, holding her close to his body. "Next time you run off, make sure you're in a better frame of mind."  
  
"Will do." She said. "I need to change clothes, Trunks, would you excuse me?"  
  
Trunks looked at her and then released his grip. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and then disappeared into her room, leaving him standing outside the door with mixed emotions.   
  
"Hey Trunks..." Goten said, walking up to his friend. "You okay?"  
  
"What? Oh...yeah I'm fine." Trunks answered quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?"  
  
"Well I did see what Nat did just now." He said, looking over at the closed door. "What's going on between you two?"  
  
"I don't know, Goten!" Trunks cried. "She got mad at me and left, nearly got herself killed, then comes back and ignores me. Something is up."  
  
"Now that you mention it, Natalie has been more introverted lately."   
  
Trunks and Goten turned around to see Bulma pulling her blue hair into a ponytail, wearing a lab coat overtop of her t-shirt and jeans.   
  
"Kaasan are you already going back to work?" Trunks asked. "We just got home from vacation."  
  
"I have a specimen to examine." Bulma explained. "You could call it a pregnancy test."  
  
Trunks gulped. "R-really..." he began.  
  
"Trunks calm down, I haven't made a diagnosis yet." Bulma said, finishing her ponytail and pushing her bangs out of her face.   
  
"She really thinks that she is, kaasan." Trunks said shakily. "And you once told me never to question a woman's intuition."  
  
"That's not intuition, it's paranoia." Bulma said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a sample to inspect." The blue-haired woman walked down the stairs and disappeared into the medical wing of the building. When she was gone, Trunks sighed.   
  
"I heard once that Saiya-jins can smell a pregnant female." Goten commented. "I don't smell anything."  
  
"Well I hope that's a sign." Trunks said. He didn't want to raise Orion's child. He really didn't.   
  
"Don't you think that if she was pregnant, we would be able to sense the new ki by now?" Goten asked.  
  
"Not necessarily." Sirius said as he walked up and joined them, fresh from gravity room training.  
  
"Oh here we go..." Trunks said, rolling his eyes. "The god of all knowledge has spoken."  
  
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Sirius said, and then turned his back to Trunks, facing Goten. "If she is pregnant, and she is too early on that she isn't showing any signs, then the child is not developed enough to sense anything."  
  
"O-oh..." Goten stammered.   
  
"Sirius maybe you should become a sex ed teacher, since you have so much...knowledge on the subject." Trunks jeered. Sirius turned around and shot the boy a lethal glare.  
  
"I would stop if I were you." He hissed. "I have an advantage, and I'm not going to waste the opportunity to use it."  
  
"Use your stupid mind tricks on me, I don't give a damn!" Trunks barked. "You already read my thoughts and put blocks on my ki, what else can you possibly do?  
  
Sirius raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Don't start." Trunks threatened. "Don't you dare."  
  
"STOP IT! Both of you!"   
  
Trunks and Sirius spun around to see Natalie standing in the door to her room, freshly changed, with a furious expression on her face.   
  
"You're acting like little babies! You two had better learn to get along soon if you plan on living in the same building." She snapped. "You guys are supposed to be mature seventeen year-olds? I think Pan has more of a maturity level than you both put together!"  
  
"Ouch." Goten said, wincing.   
  
"Sirius, you should reconsider. I think she is pregnant." Trunks commented. Natalie, already infuriated, glared at him.  
  
"You think that's funny, do you?" she asked. Trunks looked at her and sweatdropped as he laughed nervously.  
  
"N-no." he began. Natalie, for a minute, looked like she was going to cry, but blinked, forcing out the emotion and walking past him on her way downstairs. "Nat, wait." He said, reaching out to grab her arm. She tore away and ran into the medical wing, obviously to see Bulma.  
  
"Good job, Trunks." Goten said, looking at his friend. Trunks growled in frustration and looked at the ground.  
  
"She's so moody!" he complained. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to handle this."  
  
  
Natalie tiptoed down the hallways of the medical wing in search of Bulma. It was so quiet, she could hear the steps she took as she walked. The only other sound was the sound of her own pulse, and the low hum of a generator somewhere in the distance.   
  
"Natalie!" came a voice. Natalie was so surprised she shrieked and jumped back against the wall, eyes wide in fear. She blinked a few times and recognized Bulma's figure in the doorway to one of the rooms.   
  
"Nani, Bulma-san?" Natalie asked, recovering from her initial shock. It was hard not to jump after hearing a shrill cry, when before you had been accustomed to silence.  
  
"Come in." Bulma said, walking back into the room, her lab coat swishing behind her. Natalie walked in cautiously and sat down on one of the counters, her feet dangling over the side.  
  
"How did it go?" Natalie asked, gulping. She had a bad feeling, and the sharp pain in her stomach didn't help much. She was beginning to feel sick again.   
  
"Based on the tests I performed on the specimen gathered while you were in the rejuvenation tank-"  
  
"Just say it already!" Natalie spat. Bulma took no offense to Natalie's anxiety, for it was to be expected.  
  
"The results came out positive."   
  
"P...positive." Natalie stammered.  
  
"Yes, Nat-chan. You are officially, more or less, two months pregnant."  
  
Natalie, seemingly in a state of hypnosis, nodded and hopped off of the counter and walked out of the room, mumbling softly to herself. Bulma watched her depart with a look of concern on her face.  
  
"I think I said it a little too bluntly." She said to herself, watching the tip of Natalie's tail disappear around the corner.   
  
  
Trunks and Goten were talking in the hallway, standing against the wall in the open room that connected the medical wing and the living quarters. They were having a quiet conversation, when they both saw Natalie's figure emerge from the wing and walk past, unblinking and unfazed. She took slow, steady steps as she headed for her room on the second floor.  
  
"You...don't think..." Goten trailed off, watching Natalie's movements. Her tail hung lifelessly between her legs as she trudged upward, her eyes staring straight ahead.   
  
"She looks like she's lost her mind." Trunks said, taking a step forward. "I should go talk to her."  
  
  
Meanwhile, Sirius was just departing from Reena and Ceres' room and had just shut the door when Natalie brushed by him, walking straight into her own room and swinging the door closed with her tail. He looked at the door for a few seconds before turning around.  
  
"Sirius." Trunks said, running up the stairs. When he reached the top, he stopped. "Did you see her?"  
  
"What did you do?" Sirius asked threateningly.  
  
"Nothing, I swear!" Trunks said, putting his hands in the air defensively. "I was just on my way to try and talk to her."  
  
Sirius looked at him critically.  
  
"Look, I honestly didn't do a thing." Trunks said. "She was in the medical wing the entire time."  
  
Sirius walked away, shooting Trunks a final, icy glare as he passed. Trunks shrugged his shoulders in defeat and walked to Natalie's door, knocking on it cautiously. There was no reply. Again, he knocked, this time a little more forcefully. No reply.  
  
"Maybe she's in the bathroom." Trunks said to himself. He waited a few minutes, and knocked again. He received no reply, and decided to try the handle. Sure enough, it was unlocked. As he opened the door slowly, he made out Natalie's form on the other side of the room, curled into a ball in the corner. Seeing this, he entered quickly and shut the door behind him.  
  
"Nat?" he asked, approaching the girl with apprehension stained onto his face. She turned her head slightly and he noticed a line of tears streaming down the side of her face as she forced her eyes closed, as if trying to shut out reality. "What happened?"  
  
A sob escaped Natalie's throat and she looked away ashamedly. Trunks sat down on the floor next to her and placed his fingers under her chin, lifting her head so that their gazes met. He noted that her eyes were red and glazed with saline water. As she blinked, another tear escaped and dropped onto his wrist.   
  
"Natalie...talk to me." He said, looking at her with his eyes narrowed in concern.   
  
"I...can't..." she said, her voice heavy with bitter emotion. Trunks scooted even closer and placed his arm around her.  
  
"Yes you can." He coaxed. "Why are you crying?"  
  
"Because..." she choked out. "My life...is ruined..."  
  
"Why is it ruined?"   
  
"You...don't want to know." She said, her body heaving as she was racked with another sob. "It's...-"  
  
Trunks drew in a shaky breath and cursed himself mentally.   
  
"Did you...see kaasan..." he inquired guardedly. Natalie nodded her head. "You're..."  
  
"Pregnant." Natalie interrupted, her voice laced with ice as she spoke through clenched teeth. The statement hit Trunks like a brick wall. "You don't have to stay in here." She said softly, still too ashamed to look him in the eyes.   
  
Trunks, bewildered, sat back against the wall and looked at the ceiling. He had no idea of how to comfort her, or how to react. He wanted to turn back time and prevent it, even though he knew that he couldn't. What was going to happen now? What about Kira? Would she cease to exist? How was he going to raise a child? All of the questions raced through his mind and left him dazed and confused as Natalie's soft cries filled the background. 


	41. Chapter 41

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 41 - Disclosure of the Sidra-jin   
  
  
Trunks opened his eyes lazily and looked at the fuzzy world around him. Immediately, he sensed warmth coming from the left side of his body, and instinctively looked down. There she was, huddled into a little heap, leaning against him. Her face was stained with dried tears and her cheeks remained slightly flushed. Her chest rose and fell at a slow, steady rate, and it was confirmed that she was indeed sleeping. Her tail was wrapped around her waist one and a half times, falling onto the floor where the tip lay still next to her.   
  
At his angle, he couldn't see the digital clock on her nightstand, but he assumed that it was sometime around six in the evening. His body was out of sync with the time of day after going across the globe, and then traveling back in time. It would only take a few days to get back in line. Natalie sighed in her sleep and the end of her tail twitched slightly as she stirred.   
  
He slowly stood, picking up the sleeping body of Natalie and holding her in his arms as he watched her. She didn't wake. As he listened to the steady rhythm of her breathing, he realized that even if the child was not his, Natalie was still his mate, and he could not give up on her.   
  
Just then, the door opened slowly and Sirius stepped in, followed by Ceres.  
  
"Is she okay?" Sirius asked, studying his sister as she slept.   
  
"I'm assuming you know already." Trunks said, looking at Sirius with a hardened expression cut into his face. Sirius' lack of response was the confirmation, that yes, he did know. Ceres looked up at him and then at Trunks, and then Sirius again, obviously confused and unaware of the situation. "Well," Trunks said, "she needs to rest, she's exhausted."  
  
"Are you staying or going?" Sirius asked, almost in a challenging tone.  
  
"I'm staying." Trunks answered, knowing that it was the answer Sirius didn't expect. He looked at the hybrid and knew, even without telepathic abilities of his own, that Sirius was on the watch, waiting for the first slip up on his part. Trunks knew that he would not let it happen. Sirius' gaze lingered for a few more seconds before he departed, followed by Ceres, who stole a last glance before walking out.  
  
"Alright, Sirius," Ceres began, "what's going on?"  
  
Sirius sighed and walked to the stairs, stopping before he stepped down on the first one. "Carina...she-"  
  
"Is she pregnant?" Ceres asked. Sirius looked at her consentingly and nodded quickly. Ceres paused and looked back at the door to Natalie's room. "It's Orion, isn't it..."  
  
"Yes." Sirius replied. He knew all about Ceres' affection towards Orion, but didn't dare mention it. Though he could not read her mind directly, he still had the uncanny ability to pick up on subtle hints and piece them together to form strong evidence, which ultimately lead to conclusions on his part.  
  
"I thought so." Ceres muttered. "How far along?"  
  
"I didn't pick up on it." He said. "And I'm not in range to read the thoughts of the human woman."  
  
"She probably has a few months to go." She commented.   
  
"Perhaps, we'll find out in due course." Sirius said. Yet another characteristic of the Sidra-jin race was unearthed. The shorter term of pregnancies. Most lasted between 4 and 5 months, but there was always the possibility of a premature birth, however, not one to be desired.   
  
There was a long pause, an awkward silence, between them, and finally they both spoke at the same time.  
  
"Do you-"  
  
"I think I'm-"  
  
The both realized what they did, and again, tried to correct themselves by speaking at the same time.  
  
"I'm sorry." They both spoke simultaneously. Ceres held up her hand as she spoke, signaling Sirius to remain silent.   
  
"I'm going to the lab, to talk to the human." She said.  
  
"Alright." Sirius said. "And I'm going downstairs to my room, probably to get a shower."  
  
There was another pause, and Ceres broke the silence.  
  
"Well, I'll see you later." She said rather hurriedly, and walked downstairs.  
  
"Yeah." Sirius added, though he knew that she was out of earshot.   
  
  
Ceres took quiet steps down the main corridor of the medical wing in search of the blue haired woman called Bulma. On her way, she bumped into the little girl known as "Bra" to the others.  
  
"Hiya." Bra said cutely, walking up to Ceres and standing, her chin raised to meet the gaze of the Sidra-jin girl. They studied each other curiously. "What's your name?"  
  
"Ceres." She replied. She didn't return the question, because she already knew the answer. However, Bra took the initiative anyway and offered it.  
  
"Well, I'm Bra." The little girl commented. "Are you looking for my kaasan?"  
  
"Oh...yes. Your mother, she is Bulma, isn't she?"  
  
"Yup. That's my kaasan." Bra replied. She cocked her head slightly. "Didja know that Nat-san is gonna be a kaasan too?"  
  
"Yes..." Ceres replied.  
  
"And that means Trunks is gonna be a tousan." Bra observed, placing her finger on her bottom lip as she made connections. "And I get to see the baby."  
  
"Bra, that baby does not belong to Trunks." Ceres said.  
  
"What do you mean?" Bra asked quizzically.   
  
"I mean, Trunks is not the father. Somebody else is."  
  
"B...but..." Bra stammered. "I thought..."  
  
"Trunks...he will raise the baby as his own, but it is not truly his."  
  
"Then...who's is it?" Bra questioned.  
  
Ceres paused. "Do you happen to know who...Orion is?"  
  
Bra made a face to show her disapproval. "Yeah...he's that mean guy that tousan and niisan fought."  
  
"Well, that's who the baby belongs to."  
  
Bra produced a horrified look on her face. "What? But why would Natalie have a baby that belongs to a mean guy??"  
  
"You can ask her that." Ceres said. "I need to find your mother."  
  
Bra pointed her index finger down the hallway. "She's at the end."  
  
"Thanks." Ceres said, and then walked away. Bra, still shocked by the recent news, walked back to the living quarters silently.   
  
Inside one of the labs, Bulma was studiously working with a microscope and a tray of samples, Ceres guessed, of organic nature. Her entrance was muffled and quiet, and she was not surprised when Bulma's eye held fast over the lens of the specimen.   
  
"Good evening Ceres." Bulma said, not looking away from her work. Somewhat taken by surprise, Ceres replied.  
  
"H-hi." She muttered nervously.  
  
"What bring you here?" Bulma asked, standing up and pushing loose strands of hair out of her face as she smiled. The lines around her tired eyes became apparent, and her true age shone through.   
  
"Nothing better to do." Ceres replied. "And places like this feel the most comfortable."  
  
"I couldn't agree more." Bulma replied, pulling her lab coat off and tossing it aside. "Are you good with machinery?"   
  
"Foreign and domestic." Ceres answered coolly. "Why?"  
  
"If you have time...one of the helper droids needs repairing." Bulma explained. "I just don't have the energy to do it tonight. I'm about to keel over from fatigue."  
  
"Then you should rest." Ceres said. "I can figure it out."  
  
Bulma smiled warmly. "Alright, the spare parts, should you need them, are in the far cabinet, the tools are over there, and -"  
  
"Don't worry." Ceres interrupted. "I'll be fine."  
  
Bulma nodded and walked out of the room, pulling out her ponytail and running her hands through her hair briskly.   
  
Hours passed, and, more or less, the entire house was sleeping after the long day. Ceres remained in the lab, diligently working, with no background noise except the clanking of tools, the buzz of electricity every so often, and her own breathing. She had grown accustomed to the feeling. She closed the main panel on the torso of the droid and flipped a switch, causing it to hum to life. She smiled slightly and rubbed her hand over the surface of it. However, just as she placed her hand back on the table, there was a slightly spark and it went dead. Frowning, Ceres opened the main panel. One of the wires was lose, and there had been a short.   
  
She turned back to the counter and opened several drawers, looking feverishly for the correct tools. She swung open the third drawer, not seeing the tool she desired, and began to shut it again when something caught her eye. Pausing, she opened the drawer again. In the back was a small piece of plastic and metal. Curiously, she reached inside and pulled it out. As soon as she recognized it, she gasped.   
  
"What...the..." she whispered, running her fingers over the object. It was the same symbol that she had worn on her own Sidra-jin armor. However, it was slightly different, and contained some kind of encoding. She knew who it belonged to, and held it in her shaky hands, staring.   
  
"Ceres?"  
  
The blonde-haired girl shrieked and almost jumped out of her skin when a voice pierced the silence. When she regained her shocked composure, she turned to see Sirius standing in the doorway with one eyebrow raised. She didn't know if it was from concern or disdain.   
  
"What..." she replied flatly, somewhat irritated at being disturbed.   
  
"It's late..." he explained.  
  
"I know that."  
  
"You're working by yourself..."  
  
"I know that."  
  
"You look tired."  
  
"I know that."  
  
Sirius had, by now, given up on coming across as being concerned, and covered himself.  
  
"Well, the light is keeping me awake." He lied. "And I want to get some rest."  
  
"So close the door." She shot back.  
  
"Your ki doesn't help." He added.   
  
"Sirius, it's never bothered you before." She said. "Why did you really come here?"  
  
Sirius cursed himself. So she wasn't as gullible as he had hoped.   
  
"Uh...well because I was bored." He answered. It was only a partial lie. "And I couldn't sleep. So, I knew that you were awake, and decided to talk."  
  
"About what?" she asked accusingly.   
  
"Nothing, really." He replied casually. He sensed her iciness and decided it was time to back down. "If you want to be left alone, just say it, and I'll leave."  
  
Ceres regretted her apprehension and spoke. "No. What I mean is...I wasn't trying to be snappy. I was distracted, and you're right, I am tired."  
  
"That's fine." Sirius said, and walked to the door again.   
  
"No, don't." she said, gesturing with her hand for him to stop. "I hate working in here alone. I just get used to it after a while."  
  
"What were you doing?" Sirius inquired.   
  
"I was trying to fix this droid. The technology is outdated for our standards, which makes it more of a hassle to deal with." She explained, hiding the small object in the palm of her hand. "But it keeps shorting. I need a welder."  
  
"Why not just use your ki?" he asked. Ceres paused and cracked a smile.   
  
"That might work." She admitted, asking herself why she hadn't thought of something so simple beforehand.   
  
"What do you have?" he asked.   
  
"N-nani? What do you mean?" he asked, regrettably realizing that he had probably seen what she had been attempting to hide.  
  
"In your hand. What is it?" he asked. Ceres looked down and held out her palm which contained the small medallion. The very medallion that had been fasted to the breastplate of the armor of Orion himself.   
  
"It's this." She whispered. Sirius studied it and recognized it immediately.  
  
"Where did you get that?" he asked. Ceres pointed to the drawer with the look of a submissive child on her face.   
  
"I wonder why they have it here." He asked rhetorically.   
  
"I don't know." She replied softly. "I found it seconds before you walked in. I want to keep it."  
  
"Ceres..." Sirius sighed.   
  
"I know you think it's stupid." She said. "But...it's just something to remind me of home..."  
  
"Why don't you just use your own armor?" he asked.  
  
"We can't. It disappeared along with us when we were killed. We came back, but it didn't." she replied.  
  
"Heneshin...?"   
  
"Won't work." She explained. "This is all we have left."  
  
"The fact that it belongs to Orion isn't the motive, Ceres?" he asked condemningly.   
  
"No." she replied quickly...too quickly.   
  
"He's dead, Ceres." Sirius said. "You can't-"  
  
"I know he's dead." Ceres retorted. "Everyone thinks that if they drill that into my brain, it will magically cure me."  
  
"I didn't say-"  
  
"But it doesn't." she continued. "In fact, it makes me angrier. Especially coming from her."  
  
"Carina."  
  
"Who else would it be?" Ceres asked. "She doesn't know what it feels like to watch while the one you love is in love with someone else."  
  
"You're not in love, Ceres. Maybe lust, but not love."  
  
"Oh what do you know?" she hissed. "You've never cared for anyone! The only person you have a soft spot for is your sister...yet another example of-"  
  
"I do care for someone." He interjected.   
  
"Oh really?" she asked spitefully, her eyes hinting at tears. "Who is it, your MOM this time?"  
  
"No, Ceres." he answered, looking into her eyes with all the sincerity in the world. "It's you." 


	42. Chapter 42

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 42 - Separate Ways  
  
  
Ceres didn't know what to say. Her lower lip quivered slightly as she searched her vocabulary for the proper response. Sirius cared for her. Nobody had ever cared for her. Not like this, anyway. But she asked herself, did she care for him in the same way?  
  
"Ceres..." Sirius started.  
  
She couldn't hear him. She was overwhelmed with a foreign feeling deep in her chest and she struggled to breathe. Why was it so hard for her to talk? She looked back into his eyes again, and for a fleeting moment, she wanted to run, because she was afraid of these feelings, but that desire left just as quickly as it had come.   
  
He began to speak again, but she couldn't hear the words. Instead, she heard the sound of her pulse racing in her temples, and felt the sensation of becoming flushed. Then, before she could react either way, he leaned toward her. Ceres forced her eyes shut and wished that she would wake up, free from the foreign emotions that she experienced. Then, she was shoved back into reality when there was a sensation on her lips that caused her to open her eyes.   
  
A few seconds passed, and Sirius stood back, his eyes still locked with hers. She saw him mouth the words "I'm sorry", smile slightly, and then depart. Ceres stood in the room, unmoving, for what seemed like an eternity before she finally collapsed into the chair, laid her head down, and fell asleep in a state of shock.  
  
  
The next morning, Natalie was the first to awake. Before she opened her eyes, she spent a few minutes gathering her thoughts and short-term memories. She sensed Trunks' presence next to her. Judging by the deepness of his breathing, he was asleep.   
  
Natalie rolled out of bed slowly and pushed the covers back onto Trunks. She walked to the bathroom and looked at her reflection. Her hair fell to her bare shoulders, her tank top was twisted messily from a fitful night's rest, and her eyes were still slightly swollen from her tears. She splashed cold water on her face and slipped her feet into a pair of slippers before walking out the door and shutting it quietly behind her.   
  
As she took small, slow steps down the stairs, she looked down at her stomach. Though Trunks denied it, she swore she saw the tiniest bulge. Perhaps she was imagining it. But she knew that sooner or later, it would appear whether she liked it or not. She made a mental note to talk to one of her guardians about the Sidra-jin pregnancy term.   
  
She had just stepped onto the main floor and walked a couple of feet when her stomach rumbled noticeably. She was reminded that she hadn't eaten in a while. The digital clock in the kitchen read 5:15am. From the stories she heard, she would soon be eating more than normal. Considering she already at her fair share to feed her Saiya-jin appetite, she shook her head at the thought. Ahs she looked into the pantry, she began to pick out baby names.  
  
  
Ceres was jolted awake. She lifted her head off of her arms and looked around groggily.   
  
"Where..." she trailed off, looking around. She recollected that she was in the lab. Why? She had been fixing the droid. And then...she remembered him. She looked down at her left hand, and found Orion's medallion still in her palm. Her neck was sore, her eyes were tired, and her head spun. She wanted to lay down in a real bed, but she didn't want to go into the living quarters. What if she ran into him? Sure, she couldn't stay in the lab forever, but she wasn't ready to leave just yet. She had a droid to fix, and some thinking to do.   
  
  
Yawning and stretching lazily, Reena walked out of her bedroom door, wondering where Ceres had gone. A look outside told her that it was still very early, but she was not in tune with the circadian rhythm of this planet, and she had already been awake for at least an hour. She looked around, blinking a few times to clear her eyes. Nobody is here, she thought.   
  
She started to walk back into her room to catch a few more winks when she heard some noise in the kitchen. Her senses perked up and she recognized the ki to belong to Carina. Trudging down the stairs, she rubbed her bare arms to get the blood flowing.   
  
  
Natalie was in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal and staring lazily out of one of the windows in the kitchen. She had spent the past ten minutes making crucial decisions. First, she was going to continue training and reach the super Saiya-jin state once more. She could take it, and so could the baby. Second, once the baby was born, she was going to go back to Lakeside, and at least finish high school. She didn't think Trunks would love her baby, and she didn't expect him to by any means. At least she wouldn't get her hopes up.   
  
"Carina."   
  
Natalie jerked and spun around to see Reena standing in the open doorway to the kitchen.  
  
"Reena...what are you doing up?" Natalie asked. She stood and threw her bowl in the sink.  
  
"I've been awake. I haven't become accustomed to your sleeping patterns, remember." Reena replied. "And I sensed your ki in here, so I decided to see how you were."  
  
Natalie realized that Reena probably wasn't up to date on the news. She didn't know whether to tell her point blank, or wait for the question.  
  
"I'm fine." Natalie lied.   
  
"You seem tired. So back to bed then." Reena suggested. Natalie shook her head.  
  
"I couldn't sleep if I wanted to. I came to eat, and then to train." She replied.  
  
"Training...already? You just came out of the rejuvenation tank."  
  
"I know. That's the point. I'm better. I can fight again. Now that I'm healed, am I supposed to give training the back seat?"  
  
"Well that's now what I meant-"  
  
"I know Reena." Natalie said. "Why don't you train with me?"   
  
"Don't want to." She replied simply.   
  
"Where's Goten?"  
  
"He went back home late last night."   
  
"You two seem to have hit it off pretty well."   
  
"We have, yes." Reena said. "What's going on with you and Trunks?"   
  
"What are you talking about?" Natalie asked, playing dumb.   
  
"Ceres and I saw the two of you talking outside yesterday, and I have noticed a hint of tension in your interactions." Reena explained. "What's the deal?"  
  
Natalie sighed and leaned against the counter. "Reena...have you talked to anybody since I came out of the medical wing last night?"  
  
"I didn't even know you went to the medical wing." Reena said. "Ceres didn't even come in, she must have fallen asleep in the lab. Goten was probably the last person I spoke to."  
  
Natalie didn't think Goten knew.  
  
"Why do you ask?" Reena questioned.   
  
"Because..." Natalie began, trying to calm her thoughts and think of a rational explanation. "I...well...I'm..." Natalie couldn't force the words out of her mouth. She tried...but she didn't want to grasp the concept, let alone speak of it.  
  
"You're not pregnant, are you?" Reena asked. Natalie bit her lower lip and nodded.   
  
Reena's face saddened and she looked at the girl before her. It was such a shame. She was the princess of the great Sidra-jin race. She had fought many battles. She had prevailed. She was strong. She had potential. And now, her life was taking a dramatic turn and she was a wreck. Her eyes were filled with pain, regret, and shame. She looked like a lost child, and she stood slightly hunched over with her hands resting under her chin as she stared at the floor, embracing herself protectively.   
  
Reena grew angry. Not at Natalie, but for her. Her best friend was unraveling before her eyes. She remembered the cruel smirk on Hermes' face when he declared that he would continue the Sidra-jin race. He didn't care about anything except his desire to prevail over all others. And in doing so, he had changed the course of time.   
  
The purple-haired girl walked over and put her arms around Natalie for comfort. She couldn't say anything...what could she say? Carina, I know how you feel?   
  
"Reena..." Natalie said softly. "I will be fine. You know that. I appreciate the concern, but there is no need to worry about something that can't be changed."  
  
"You'll be fine? Have you seen yourself lately?" Reena asked, stepping away from Natalie and placing her hands on her hips. "Your eyes are red, your face is flushed, you don't smile."  
  
"Reena-"  
  
"If things were reversed...and I was the one who was pregnant, and you were me...what would you do?" she asked.  
  
"Well...I don't really know. I guess I would just...be there if you needed someone to talk to."  
  
"So do you want to talk?"   
  
"Not now. I need to train."  
  
"Fine." Reena said, calming herself once more. She wished desperately that Carina weren't so stubborn sometimes.   
  
They went their separate ways, with Natalie to the gravity room and Reena back to her room. Reena considered finding Ceres, but she decided to worry about it later as she felt her sleep hormones kick in. As soon as she rested her head onto the pillow, she was asleep. 


	43. Chapter 43

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 43 - Nat's Abilities Shine Through   
  
  
As he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, Sirius wanted to die. He knew he shouldn't have kissed her. He knew he shouldn't have tried to talk to her. What was he thinking? Now she probably hated him, and wouldn't talk to him for days. Here he was, the perfect hybrid, with all the potential in the world, and now he was suddenly vulnerable and weak. Knowing all this, he could not shake the uneasy feelings to save his life. He decided to do what any Saiya-jin would do in circumstances such as these. He was going to train in the gravity room.   
  
  
However, it was already occupied.   
  
Natalie had already worked enough to break a sweat, but she didn't even think about stopping. She punched invisible enemies and ki blasted the walls and ceilings, just getting the benefits of exertion on her own. Whenever she started to lag, she used her emotions for fuel. Hermes had tried to take away everything she loved. BAM. She was a teenage mother, not by her free will. BAM. She would never be the same again. BAM.   
  
She kept this up for a few more minutes until she heard the gravity generator die and the metal clanking sound that was only heard when someone entered the gravity room. She expected to see Trunks' face come around the corner and look at her with his blue eyes. Well, the eyes were blue alright, but not to the same depth as she had anticipated.  
  
"Carina?"   
  
"Sirius."  
  
"What are you doing awake, and even more, training in the gravity room?"  
  
"I couldn't sleep. I'm training." She replied plainly, answering his questions and using limited vocabulary. She didn't want to be chewed out because she had dared to get a decent workout while she was pregnant.   
  
"Are you sure you should-"  
  
"Yes." She interrupted. Her heart rate began to slow as a result of her lull in training. "Did you actually need something or did you come here to lecture me?"  
  
"I came to train. You know, let off some steam. Vent. Cool down." He explained. Natalie relaxed and lowered her defenses.  
  
"What's bothering you?" she asked.  
  
"N-nothing." He replied. "You wouldn't understand."  
  
"I'm willing to bet." She replied. "Do I hear twenty dollars?"  
  
"I'm not going to bet with you." He replied, sighing. "It's just not something I want to talk about."  
  
Natalie decided to stop pressing the issue. If he was anything like her, which was likely, considering they were siblings, then he wouldn't want to be interrogated at a time like this.   
  
"Well when you decide to, you can tell me, and I'll listen." She said, offering consolation freely.  
  
"Sure." He replied distantly.   
  
"I thought you wanted to train." Natalie said, piercing the silence.  
  
"I do."  
  
"Well let's go."  
  
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "No?"  
  
"Yeah, come on." Natalie said. "What are you afraid of?"  
  
"Hurting you."  
  
"Are you crazy? Just who do you think I am anyway?"  
  
"Princess Carina." He replied.   
  
"So...does that make me a weak fighter or something?"  
  
"I didn't say that."  
  
"What did you say then?"  
  
"I said I didn't want to hurt you. One, you're pregnant, two, you lost a lot of strength after the transformation and three, I'm stronger than you."  
  
"You are not!" Natalie cried.   
  
"I'm willing to bet. Do I hear twenty dollars?" he replied mockingly. Natalie was not amused.   
  
"You're an ass." Natalie retorted. "The perfect example of Saiya-jin royalty."  
  
"Is that an insult, or a compliment?" he asked.  
  
"Neither. It was an observation." She said. "If you aren't going to train with me, then get out. I was here first, and I'm not leaving."  
  
Sirius stood still for a few minutes, trying to decide how he would remove his sister from the gravity room.   
  
Natalie took his silence as an invitation, and lunged at him, preparing to bring her hands down on top of his head. His reflexes responded and within a split second, he blocked it. Natalie sprung away and prepared to attack again. Sirius remained still.   
  
She didn't understand how he could be so fast and so calm. He hadn't trained since Vela, provided that he trained there at all. But judging by his build, he most likely had.  
  
She jumped up and fired a few weak ki blasts toward him, just for distraction purposes. He blocked them, of course, but while he was busy, she appeared behind him and landed a blow to his back. Somewhat angered, he spun around and attacked her. She managed to dodge most of his attacks, but she made a critical error. When she landed on the floor, she was at such an angle that her foot slid and threw her off balance. During that half-second that she was vulnerable, Sirius struck. He slammed his elbow into the back of her neck, connecting at the base of her skull.   
  
Natalie was stunned as the world around her flashed brilliantly and she fell hard. Her body slid for a few feet before coming to a stop. She was not unconscious, but she didn't feel connected to reality.   
  
Sirius stood back and looked at her. He knew that the blow he just delivered to her head was just what she needed. If he hit her in the right place...she would be just fine. In fact, better than before.   
  
"Itai..." Natalie moaned softly, forcing herself onto her hands and knees. She felt the place on the back of her head throbbing with the beat of her pulse. She couldn't believe that he had gotten the best of her so easily. How on Earth did he do it?  
  
"Stand up, Carina." He said, looking down at her. She did, very slowly, but she did. Her peripheral vision was all but gone, replaced with black, blotchy patches.   
  
"What did you do to me..." she hissed. She was furious. If her head was not pounding, she would have long since ripped him to shreds.   
  
"Relax, neesan." He said, hoping that he hadn't seriously hurt her. He highly doubted it, however, since he was quite familiar with the anatomy of a Sidra-jin.  
  
"I can't..." she replied. "You did something to me."  
  
"I know. Stand up." He repeated. Natalie, using the wall as a support, stood on her feet, trembling.   
  
"Sirius, tell me-"  
  
"Carina, quiet!" he said sternly. Natalie silenced herself and obeyed. He concentrated on her frame and targeted her head specifically. She just stood in place, trying to maintain her balance while her brother was busy with whatever he was doing.   
  
He concentrated on her and sensed a change in her ki. Smiling, he relaxed.  
  
Suddenly, Natalie reeled back and slammed her fist into Sirius' chest, sending him flying back towards the cold, hard steel wall.  
  
Caught off guard, Sirius used his feet to spring off the wall and land.  
  
"That's for hitting me!" Natalie snarled. "Don't you ever try that again or I'll send you to your knees begging for mercy."   
  
Sirius snickered at the irony. Here was his sister, about half his size, pregnant, and relatively weaker, threatening him, and believing that she could harm him.  
  
"I see you have your endurance back." He said. "That's a good sign. You'll begin to notice some changes..."  
  
"What kind of changes?" she asked.   
  
"On Sidra-jins, the central area of psychic ability lies at the base of the skull." He explained. "It's a commodity that the Saiya-jins do not possess, but since you are hybrid, you retain that addition."  
  
"You hit me there...why?"  
  
"In hopes that it would start to work again." He replied. "When you were in the Shiroi no Tenshi state it was activated and perfected as conceptually possible. But, along with the ability to transform into a super Saiya-jin, it was lost when you returned to this planet."  
  
"Well what if it doesn't work?" she asked.  
  
"Then we'll have to approach it differently then." He answered. "It might take a few days just to start working again, and then you'll have to train your ability in order to perfect it."  
  
"Oh! So I'll be able to read minds and stuff?" she asked.  
  
"Not initially, but sooner or later, yes."  
  
"Cool. Now I'll be able to know what Trunks is thinking." She said insightfully. Sirius wondered how he was going to break that news to the purple-haired Saiya-jin.   
  
  
Ceres sat in the lab, drained of energy. Her stomach was knotted and demanded food, her eyes were tired and her eyelids drooped. She needed to get out of the room, but she was too afraid. She had no idea of what to say to Sirius or how to act around him. She wished that he hadn't told her how he felt; she would have been better off.  
  
"Kami...what am I doing?" she said aloud, throwing her hands up in frustration. "I grew up with him. I can't run from him now that he has feelings for me."   
  
"Er...Ceres..." came a voice. Ceres turned her head dreadfully and locked eyes with Bulma.   
  
"Oh...good morning Bulma-san." She spoke, smiling nervously. "How long were you standing there?"  
  
"Long enough to hear your frustrated mumbling." She said. "You're talking about Sirius, aren't you?"  
  
"How...did you know?" Ceres asked.  
  
"Well, I heard you say that you grew up with the guy, and I put two and two together. Besides, I've seen the way he looks at you."  
  
"Bulma..."  
  
"Ceres don't be so embarrassed." Bulma said, walking into the room and shutting the door softly to deter curious passerby's. "I think it's so great that he likes you."  
  
"You...don't really know him though." Ceres said.   
  
"Oh, I know enough for now. I don't know why you're afraid. He's a very nice young man. Oh listen to me...I sound like an old woman talking."  
  
Ceres forced a nervous laugh. "You're not old Bulma." She said.   
  
"I'm old enough to know what I'm talking about, and I say that you should give him a chance. Personally I don't see what's not to like."  
  
"It's not that I don't like him, because I do. I guess I'm still shocked about it all." Ceres confided. "Nobody has ever told me that they care for me before. Not like that anyway."  
  
"It is an extraordinary feeling, isn't it?" Bulma asked. "I remember when Vegeta and I first started to get into a relationship. Boy, was he hard to tame. Always training and mumbling thinks about defeating Goku. He never smiled unless it was a mocking smirk. He was ungrateful, and constantly degraded humans."  
  
"Then why were you attracted to him?" Ceres inquired.   
  
"I don't know...it's hard to explain. Possibly the challenge of opening up his personality was what first attracted me to him, but the more I got to know him, the more I realized I loved him." She said. "I know you probably don't understand where I'm coming from, but I think you will one day."  
  
"Uh huh." Ceres replied absentmindedly. Her mind was preoccupied with other things.   
  
  
Natalie threw herself at her brother, knocking him against the wall. While he was temporarily stunned, she sprang away and launched a ki blast. He recovered and deflected it. It whizzed past, narrowly missing her left arm as she twisted around to avoid it.   
  
"Don't just continue to avoid me! Don't you know the art of offense?" Natalie asked, panting.  
  
Sirius didn't reply, instead he attacked her head on. Natalie did a back-flip and sprung off of the side of the wall to avoid the onslaught. When Sirius brought his fists down, she raised her forearm and blocked it, just inches away from her face, Straining, she pushed his hands back and jumped into the air, slamming her feet into his chest. She could feel her ki increasing continuously as she trained. She hoped that she would be able to go super Saiya-jin soon, and that it wouldn't take as long as it did the first time. She also wondered if Sirius was striving to attain the super Saiya-jin stage as well. She definitely knew he had the ability. She even wondered if he was indeed stronger than her.  
  
Suddenly, her instincts told her to move, even though Sirius wasn't making an advancement. Initially, Natalie declined, but the feeling grew so persistent that she finally gave in and jumped out of the way. A split second later, Sirius had faded and appeared where she had just been standing, attempting to grab her by the neck, but obviously failed. Natalie, overwhelmed with confusion on just how she predicted it, stopped in her tracks and lowered her ki slightly. Sirius stood up straight and looked at her.  
  
"I see it's already started taking effect." He said, folding his arms like Vegeta would often do.   
  
"You mean that happened because of my new...power?" she asked.  
  
"It's not really a power, but more of an advantage. It's something you were born with. Get used to it." He replied. Natalie frowned at his "as-a-matter-of-fact" tone of voice.   
  
"You don't have to take on such an arrogant tone when you speak to me or anyone else. The self-righteous approach makes you look like an ass." She said, folding her arms as well. Sirius grunted in reply and dropped his arms to his side. He then took on a defensive stance and they began to train once again. 


	44. Chapter 44

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 44 - Sibling Rivalry   
  
  
When they were finished, Natalie and Sirius stumbled out of the gravity room, having nearly killed each other by overexerting in training.   
  
"...well if you hadn't attacked me while I was getting the dirt out of my eye, I wouldn't have gotten beaten!" Natalie said as she stepped inside.   
  
"You can't honestly expect me to sit back and wait while you rub your eye uselessly, do you?" Sirius countered.  
  
"Yeah, I can. Next time something like that happens to you, we'll see who's sorry."  
  
"I hate to disappoint you princess, but you won't catch me making such a stupid mistake."   
  
Natalie punched her brother in the arm, hard. She was irritated by his sanctimonious attitude. He enjoyed making others feel stupid while he basked in the glory of knowledge. What she wanted more than anything at the moment was to prove him wrong at least once.  
  
"Hey have you seen Ceres this morning?" Natalie asked as they headed toward the kitchen. Sirius instinctively tensed and forced his mouth shut.  
  
"N...no." he stammered, cursing himself mentally, again, for letting his defenses down. Obviously noting his hesitation, Natalie turned to him.  
  
"What do you mean...is there something you're not telling me?" she asked accusingly. "Because I see that look in your eyes."  
  
"No I have not seen her, Carina, mind your own business." He snapped. Natalie placed her arms up in front of her defensively.  
  
"Damnit Sirius I was just asking!" she replied. "Now I know there's something wrong because of the way you're coming across. I'm going to go find her and ask her myself."  
  
"Don't." Sirius said, grabbing her by the shoulders and stopping her. His grip was so strong that his fingernails dug into her skin.  
  
"Ahh, get off!" she cried, twisting out of his grip. "You little psychotic weirdo! If you touch me again I'm going to kick your ass!" Her tail puffed slightly as her anger increased.  
  
"Don't make empty threats, princess." He responded, his frustration growing as well.   
  
Natalie reeled back and punched him in the face. "Would you stop-" *punch* "...calling..." *punch* "...me..." *punch* "...princess!" *punch*  
  
Sirius had managed to block all of her punches and on the last one, he grabbed her fist and held it, suspended in the air.  
  
"No." he answered simply. Natalie growled furiously and her tail slashed back and forth behind her.   
  
"You stupid son of a-"  
  
Before she could even begin her long line of waiting insults, someone entered the kitchen and cleared their throat. Natalie and Sirius turned their heads simultaneously and looked at the figure standing in the doorway: Ceres.   
  
Immediately, Sirius took his hands off of Natalie's shoulders and laughed nervously. Natalie glared at her older brother before looking back at Ceres.  
  
"Good morning." Ceres said plainly, not bothering to look at Sirius as she strolled into the kitchen. "I see you two are at it fairly early."  
  
"Yeah well I was just fine by myself until he came in and bothered me." Natalie spat.  
  
"You were the one who suggested I train with you! If you weren't so pathetically weak you wouldn't have lost so miserably." Sirius shot back.  
  
"I didn't lose!" Natalie cried. "You took advantage-"  
  
"Guys..." Ceres interrupted, placing her palm out like a stop sign. "Can it."  
  
"Gomen." Sirius said quietly. Natalie folded her arms and huffed angrily. Just then, Vegeta, who looked tired and rather cranky, walked in, brushing past Ceres rudely and heading straight for the refrigerator.   
  
"You brats need to keep quiet." He barked, digging through the selection of food. "There are other, more important people in this house trying to get some sleep."  
  
"We were training." Natalie commented argumentatively. "I don't see why it's such a bother to you."   
  
Vegeta turned around and glared, gripping a chicken leg in his right hand.   
  
"Training is done outside, not in the kitchen!" he hissed. "Don't argue with me, girl, or I'll rip you to shreds and throw you to the fucking birds!"   
  
"You won't touch her." Sirius said, stepping in front of his sister. Natalie facefaulted in disbelief. Apparently, he was the only one allowed to push her around.  
  
"Oh, really, and who are you to challenge the prince of Saiya-jins?" Vegeta asked defiantly.   
  
"The prince of Sidra-jins." Sirius replied daringly. Natalie could see that this was going to lead to a nasty fight.   
  
"Stop!" she yelled, stepping between them.   
  
Vegeta ignored her pleas and literally shoved her out of the way, causing her to slam into the cabinets. And with that, Sirius jumped on him and pinned him to the floor. Vegeta sent a ki blast into Sirius' face, knocking the boy backward. He quickly recovered, however, and was upon Vegeta once more. Natalie, regaining her composure after being smacked into the wall, turned and fired at them. The ki blast exploded on impact, ripping the two Saiya-jins apart and sending them flying in opposite directions. Sirius was thrown into the dining area, and Vegeta down the hall.   
  
"Bakas..." she muttered, rubbing her finger over her lip where it had split when her head impacted with the cabinet handle. She then picked herself up and walked out of the room, heading upstairs toward her own. Ceres, who was still standing, frozen in place, heard Vegeta recovering down the hall. The Saiya-jin prince stood up and brushed himself off, heading outside.   
  
"Hey Ceres."   
  
Ceres saw Sirius standing next to her out of the corner of her eye. His shirt was ripped nearly in half, apparently having caught on something as he flew into the dining room.   
  
"Nani?" she replied.   
  
"Sorry about that...fighting I mean." He offered. Ceres shifted her weight and looked around nervously.  
  
"Well no...I think standing up for your sister like that was very considerate of you." She said.  
  
"Oh...I only did it because she's weak, and he would have hurt-"  
  
"You don't have to make excuses." She interrupted, allowing a small smile form on her lips.   
  
Sirius swallowed nervously. "Y-yeah...sorry."   
  
Ceres was at a loss, with no idea of what to say or do. She wanted to scream in frustration and punch a hole clear through the wall. Sirius was supposed to be her friend. He was, but it was different now. And now, she didn't know how to act around him anymore. She was new with this love stuff...seeing as someone actually had feelings for her, instead of the other way around. So, she decided, she would do exactly what she would want someone else to do if the situation were reversed. She timidly stepped closer to him, leaned up, and kissed him.  
  
  
Natalie, who had been watching from upstairs, facefaulted again and slammed her hands over her mouth. Sirius and Ceres...who would have known!? Sure, she had suggested it to Ceres before, but she didn't think anyone would take it seriously. She wanted to run into Reena's room and tell her, but she resisted. She figured that they would tell everyone when they were ready.   
  
After overcoming her initial shock, she decided that she was very happy with this. She felt slightly guilty for watching, but she had just being sitting with her legs crossed on the top of the stairs, and she happened to catch it. If she told them, they would probably have her head. In fact, it would be worse if they caught her. She didn't want to risk flying, because they would sense it, so she simply picked herself up and walked silently to her room, her feet noiselessly sliding along the carpet.   
  
When she walked in, she saw Trunks, still asleep, lying on her bed. Watching him sleep made her want to cry. She didn't know exactly why, but she felt suddenly guilty about practically invading their lives and dragging them into the mess she had brought upon herself. Brushing it off, she shut the door behind her and slid into the bed, lying on her back right next to Trunks, who was on his stomach with his head turned to face her. Natalie stared at the ceiling and subconsciously placed her hand on her stomach as she sighed. She was in over her head. 


	45. Chapter 45

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Chapter 45 - A Star is Born  
  
  
Three months passed quickly. Natalie and Sirius continued to train, and they managed to spar about once a day. Nat had regained the ability to go super Saiya-jin one afternoon, two months into training, when Sirius' continuous taunts had pushed her over the edge, at which point she transformed and proceeded to beat him unconscious. If it hadn't been for Trunks intervening, she could have easily killed him. Afterward she hid in her room for days, refusing to come out. The only person she would talk to was Trunks. But, it was Sirius himself who managed to bring her out of the hole.   
  
He and Ceres had a few moments of peace together, but for the most part, their status remained stationary at "just friends".   
  
Goten and Reena were growing closer by the day. In fact, Goten spent more time at Capsule Corp. than he did at his own home. Not that this was particularly unusual for him, but this time it wasn't because he wanted to spar with Trunks.   
  
Natalie hadn't been allowed anywhere near the gravity room during the past month. Trunks and Sirius both insisted that she was in no condition to overexert and strain herself because she was carrying a baby. Naturally, Natalie protested and the mood swings kicked in because she would eventually be reduced to tears. She complained that she was going to loser her strength and become weak if she didn't train, and she had threatened Trunks physically at one point. Even Vegeta stepped in from time to time. In the end, Natalie grudgingly gave up.  
  
Bulma had admitted early on that she made a mistake when predicting how far along Natalie was in her pregnancy. It turns out that when she had first tested the sample, she had misread the results, and Natalie had actually only been about a month, instead of the two that she had formerly estimated, making he at a grand total of a little over four months along. Natalie, though, looked as if she were in her final days. Ceres didn't hesitate to tell everyone that she would most likely be due very soon, because Sidra-jin pregnancies rarely lasted longer than five months.  
  
  
Then, one day, the inevitable happened.  
  
  
Natalie was awakened early on a Friday morning to a terrible pain shooting up her spine and tearing through her midsection. Her eyes shot open and she turned her head to see Trunks sleeping soundly next to her. He was sleeping on his stomach, something Natalie was extremely jealous of because she hadn't been able to do it since she was two and a half months along.   
  
Because of his fine tuned senses, as well as the fact that he was a mere six inches away from her, Trunks sensed her ki rise slightly and opened his eyes.  
  
"Nat-chan? What's the matter?" he asked. "Are you hungry? Is the baby kicking? Do you need to go to the bathroom?"  
  
Natalie's eyes narrowed considerably.  
  
"NO, you baka!" she hissed. "I-"  
  
"Don't worry." He interrupted, sitting up. "If you need something downstairs I can go get it."  
  
"Trunks! I have-" her words were interrupted by a gasp for air when another wave of pain exploded in her stomach. "...a terrible stomach ache." She finished, panting slightly. "Shit...Trunks...go wake up your Kaasan."  
  
"W-why?" he asked quizzically.  
  
"JUST DO IT, DAMNIT!" she snapped, sending Trunks flying out the door and down the hall before she could take another breath.  
  
  
Bulma was sleeping heavily, along with Vegeta, in their bedroom at the end of the hallway. Suddenly, a frantic knock ripped her out of her sleep and shoved her back into the harsh reality of the night. Irritated, she shuffled to the door and swung it open, rage prevalent in her eyes, and glared at her son.  
  
"What is it!" she cried.   
  
"K-k-kaasan! Natalie...she's..." he stammered, pointing his index finger down the hall in the direction of Nat's room.  
  
"She's what!?" Bulma asked, quite annoyed. Then, she emitted a small cry and her eyes widened. "Trunks...is she...having...her baby?"  
  
"I...I think so!" Trunks said in a panic. "I fell asleep next to her...then the next thing I know, I wake up and she's screaming stuff at me."  
  
Bulma's jaw dropped slightly. "She's definitely having the baby. Trunks...you have to go get her, because we have to take her to the hospital!"  
  
"But...can't we just use the medical wing...here at Capsule Corp?" he asked, obviously not wanting to take a trip to the hospital downtown...the same hospital where Natalie's adoptive mother had died.   
  
"First, Trunks, NO! We don't have the facilities here for giving birth. Second, NO! I don't know how to deliver a baby! Now go get her!" Bulma barked. Trunks, dazed and confused, zipped back into Natalie's room where she was lying in a fetal position on the bed, wincing in pain and occasionally crying out softly.   
  
Vegeta, by now, had been awakened, and was sitting up groggily in the bed.  
  
"Woman!" he yelled, beckoning Bulma from the doorway. "What's going on?"  
  
"Nat-chan is having her baby!" Bulma cried ecstatically. "We're going to go to the hospital."  
  
"That brat is having a brat? Already??" he cried in disbelief.   
  
"Yes, already! Do you think I'm making this up?" Bulma asked accusingly.  
  
"I didn't say that" Vegeta spat.  
  
"Then what DID you say?"   
  
"STOP!"  
  
Bulma and Vegeta both turned to see Trunks standing in their doorway with Natalie in his arms.  
  
"We have to GO! Stop arguing and get moving!" he ordered. His parents stood, frozen and transfixed by their son's sudden change in demeanor. Trunks left their doorway quickly, and immediately Bulma started to throw on some clothes.  
  
"Why that little..." Vegeta trailed off. "When we get home I'll rip his-"  
  
"Vegeta no baka! Get dressed or go back to bed!" Bulma hissed, slapping him across the face. For a fleeting moment, his eyes narrowed and he growled, but Bulma's glare remained steady and grew in intensity with each passing second. Vegeta's face relaxed and his mouth turned upward into a crooked grin.  
  
"You could pass for a Saiya-jin sometimes." He commented. Bulma smiled and they enjoyed a moment of peace together, until it was shattered with one of Natalie's shrieks from down the hall. Bulma and Vegeta tore away from each other and quickly got themselves ready.  
  
  
Sirius had also woken to the sound of his sister and the increase in ki's from upstairs. He picked was not in range to pick up on any brainwaves, so he would have to get out of bed and walk upstairs to find out what all the commotion was. No doubt Reena and Ceres were sleeping. They could have slept through the destruction of Vela-sei, but luckily, they had been awake at that time.  
  
"Quickly, get her some shoes, socks, anything!!" Bulma cried, running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Trunks was digging through the closet to find shoes for Natalie, while she lay on the bed once more, trembling with every surge of pain that racked her frame.   
  
Sirius stumbled up the stairs and stopped in the doorway to Natalie's room, his eyes widened slightly.   
  
"Carina..." he spoke softly, coming to grips with the situation. Trunks, having finally found what he was looking for, spun around with a pair of slippers in his right hand.  
  
"Sirius?" he asked, focusing on the Sidra-jin hybrid that stood in the doorway.  
  
"She's having that baby, isn't she?" Sirius asked, his eyes focused on his younger sister, even as he spoke to Trunks, who just nodded.  
  
"Yes. Are you going to help or just get in the way because if you are, then I think you should go downstairs." Trunks said, somewhat offensively.   
  
Sirius just saw through it and credited his hastiness to the panic surrounding them.  
  
"Well, what do you want me to do?" Sirius asked, raising one eyebrow challengingly.   
  
"For starters, here." Trunks said, throwing the slippers to Sirius. "Those are for Nat."  
  
"You really should have prepared for this in advance." Sirius commented. Trunks was about to reply with a spiced comeback, when Natalie screamed.  
  
"Would you two morons DO SOMETHING!?"   
  
They both stopped what they were doing and stared at her in awe. Trunks groaned, knowing that things were probably going to get progressively worse until the baby was finally born.  
  
  
  
Trunks crashed through the automatic doors of the hospital, reducing them to shards of glass and twisted metal as he entered, followed by Sirius. They had flown. Bulma and Vegeta had stayed behind to keep out of the way, as well as to make sure Reena and Ceres did not wake in a panic. With Natalie in his arms, Trunks approached the clerk's desk.  
  
"Sir, you will have to pay for that door and I assure you, it is not cheap." The woman behind the desk declared saucily.  
  
"I...don't...care." Trunks seethed through clenched teeth. "My mate...is having...a baby..."  
  
"Your what?" she repeated, glancing at Natalie and then back at Trunks, who looked like he would explode at any moment. Sirius stepped in front of him and glared at the woman.  
  
"Listen here." He stated, placing his index finger on her shoulder and pressing slightly. "My sister is in the process of giving birth to a child. I don't know much about the medical facilities on this planet, but if you do not see to it that she is taken care of, I will personally reduce your building to ash."  
  
The woman had now paled and her eyes were so wide that even the tiny veins in the corners popped out as one of her shaky hands reached for a telephone. One of her fingers pushed a bluish gray button on the base unit as she held the receiver to her mouth.  
  
"W-we need a medical staff in the maternity ward...ASAP." She stammered nervously, her voice reverberating around the enormous room and down the halls, where it would be heard by the hospital employees. "I repeat...medical staff to maternity ward." She said once more, and then placed the phone into the cradle.  
  
"Good." Sirius said in a lethal tone.  
  
"S-sir..." the woman said, gesturing to Trunks, who was talking softly to Natalie. "Sir."  
  
"His name is Trunks." Sirius informed her, less intimidating than before.   
  
"Mister Trunks." The woman called. Trunks immediately looked up questionably. "You and your wife need to follow this woman over here."   
  
Trunks ignored her assumption that Natalie was his wife and looked in the direction she pointed. He saw a middle-aged woman with short, sandy blonde hair and gray eyes, standing at the corner of one of the hospital's many wings. She smiled and gestured for them to come with her. Without another word, or another regard to the shaken clerk, Trunks, Natalie, and Sirius headed in her direction.  
  
Ten minutes later, Natalie was lying on a hospital bed, surrounded by hospital staff, with Trunks and Sirius shoved in the corner of the room.   
  
"So...how long does this take again?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Well, I guess it depends." Sirius replied. "But on average, it takes about two hours."  
  
"Sirius...how do you know this?' Trunks asked in amazement, seeing as anytime he needed trivial information on Vela-sei or it's inhabitants, Sirius kindly offered it.  
  
"Well, you know how long it takes for human females, don't you?" he asked. "It's the same principal."  
  
"Well next you're gonna be in here with your mate, and we'll see how long it takes." Trunks poked.   
  
"I don't have a mate." Sirius replied coldly.  
  
"I thought you and Ceres were-"  
  
"TRUNKS!" Natalie screamed. "Would you just SHUT UP!?"  
  
Trunks cowered slightly and lowered his head. "Yes, Nat-chan." He said softly.   
  
"When the baby is born, what are you going to do?" Sirius asked, more of a test question then out of curiosity.  
  
"Well I guess we'll bring it back to Capsule Corp. with us. Why?"   
  
"Just wondering..."  
  
"You don't think I'm going to abandon it just because its Orion's, do you?" Trunks asked accusingly. Sirius shrugged his shoulders.   
  
"You know what they say...a person's true character shines through in the time of a crisis." he commented. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."  
  
"What is that supposed to-"  
  
"TRUNKS!"  
  
"Yes, Nat-chan."  
  
  
An hour and a half later, Trunks was standing next to Natalie and receiving repeated blows to any vulnerable area on his body. So far, there were bruises on his chest, arms, and back, but fortunately for him, he was smarter than to stand too close and risk being hit in more important areas.  
  
"Damnit!" Natalie hissed. "Trunks there's NO way I'm having another baby."  
  
"N-Nat-chan, don't you think you're being a little harsh?" Trunks stammered nervously.  
  
"NO I'm not being harsh! I'd like to see YOU do this!" she berated, grabbing a fistful of his hair and clenching it in her fist. Trunks' eyes watered but he didn't protest. He imagined that she was going through much worse.  
  
The nurses were talking softly to Natalie, trying to comfort her, yet discourage her from giving up. They ensured that she was almost through with it.   
  
Sirius, meanwhile, was still standing in the corner, watching the scene with amusement. Here was Trunks being abused my his mate, who was practically immobile, while people swarmed all over the place, barking orders or speaking soothingly to his sister. He had to admit, however, that he was growing irritated with all of the humans in the room, seeing as picking up on their thoughts came so easy, it was almost hard not to.   
  
"I can't wait to get off work, this is the third baby I've delivered already today!"  
  
"I wonder if it's going to be a boy or a girl."  
  
"She looks a little young to be having a baby. Oh well, just another pregnant teenager."  
  
"Does this surgical coat make me look fat?"  
  
Sirius finally put up a mental block, as to block out all of the brainwaves and thoughts that came his way. The only downside to this was the fact that his senses were dulled slightly, a feeling that he was not comfortable with. Oh well, he thought, Saiya-jin instinct.   
  
  
"Wahhhhhhh!!!"  
  
Sirius was snapped back to reality when a shrill cry pierced the silence that he had been indulging in. Immediately, he looked toward his sister. She was lying back, looking exhausted, while a nurse blotted her damp forehead with a cloth. Trunks was staring in awe, while the other nurses crowded around the center. The tiny voice continued to cry out among the commotion, his tiny hands reaching out for his mother. After all the stats were taken, the nurse walked over to Natalie.  
  
"Congratulations, you have a healthy baby boy." She smiled, handing a tiny bundle to the fatigued girl. "However...he seems to have a...tail?"  
  
Natalie smiled and held him close. Two large blue eyes gazed at her and almost immediately, the crying ceased, as the baby continued to stare at his mother curiously. Trunks, who was still awe-stricken, finally managed to speak.   
  
"I-it's a boy." He spoke.   
  
"Do you want to hold him?" Natalie asked, looking up at him expectantly.  
  
Trunks hesitated for a split second, but deep down he knew that he loved this child, because he was part of Natalie also. Taking the baby into his arms, he studied it. Blonde hair, and the biggest, bluest eyes he had ever seen on a baby before. His tiny pink hands were curled into fists and his feet dangled beneath him as the blanket enveloped his little body.  
  
Sirius walked over and took his own turn holding the baby.  
  
"What are you going to name him?" Trunks asked, watching as Sirius held his nephew above his head.  
  
"I don't know." Natalie spoke. "I was thinking about...Gideon." 


	46. Epilogue

Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy  
  
Epilogue  
  
  
She paced the room nervously, focusing on the delicate movements of her feet as she strode over the floor. Her dress sashayed as she walked, and as she turned around, her hair swung behind her, bouncing off of her back and shoulders.   
  
"Nat-chan." Came a whisper.   
  
An 18 year old Natalie looked up and met eyes with Reena, her best friend.  
  
"Reena....Kamisama...what are you doing here?" she asked.  
  
"I am a bridesmaid, aren't I?" she asked. "I thought I was allowed back here."  
  
"Oh...gomen. You are. I'm just extremely, well, nervous." Natalie compensated. "Where is Ceres?"  
  
"She was talking with Sirius last time I checked." Reena replied.  
  
"Alright...alright." Natalie said, taking deep breaths. "I don't know why I'm so nervous. I guess it's because I'm afraid I'll screw up in front of everyone."  
  
"Don't worry, we're all like family." Reena said, smiling.   
  
"Yes, I suppose you're right." Natalie said with a sigh as she glanced out the window.  
  
  
The organ pipes blared traditional music as the room slowly filled. Goten and Trunks were standing at the pulpit, with Trunks wearing a nervous expression. They were both dressed in tuxedos, Trunks wearing one slightly more elaborate then the others. He glanced out at the crowd that was developing in the pews. He quickly made sure that he and Natalie had remembered to invite everyone. He went over the list in his head: Bulma, Vegeta, Bra, Mr. And Mrs. Briefs, Ox King, Chi-Chi, Goku, Gohan, Videl, Pan, Krillin, Juuhachi, Marron, Yamucha, Tenshinhan, Kamesennin, and of course, the three Sidra-jins, as well as Goten, the best man. Hw wondered if they had invited too many people than necessary, seeing as some of them were not familiar with Natalie herself. Trunks shrugged in defeat. At least nobody had gotten drunk yet.   
  
"Trunks...you okay?" Goten whispered quietly. "You look like you've seen a ghost."  
  
"N-no Goten...I mean...yes, I'm fine." He stammered.   
  
Just then, the organ music stopped for a brief moment, signaling to everybody that the ceremony was about to begin. When it started up again, the all-too-familiar wedding theme flowed through the air.   
  
An eight year old Bra strutted out gracefully, dressed in a white, lacy dress. She was gripping a basket of flower petals in her right hand, reaching in and tossing them into the aisle with her left. She wore a look of complete bliss, for she was the flower girl. When she reached the end, she winked at her older brother before sitting down next to her parents.   
  
Trunks looked down the aisle and saw Natalie emerge, her arm locked with Sirius', who had taken on the role usually played by the father in most weddings.  
  
He couldn't believe how beautiful she looked. She was like an angel, in that flowing white gown, flowers in her hair, her green eyes sparkling as she smiled. He looked at her, and fell in love with her all over again.  
  
Ceres and Reena followed close behind them, wearing identical dresses. The design was simplistic, yet flattering to the figure, which Goten noted as his eyes looked up and down Reena's frame.   
  
Soon, Natalie reached the end of the aisle and stepped up carefully, where she joined Trunks' side. As they turned and looked at each other, Bulma dabbed at her eye with a handkerchief. Vegeta grunted and glanced at his mate, not understanding why felt compelled to cry at a time like this.   
  
The music halted as the preacher cleared his throat and leaned towards the microphone, beginning with the infamous line, "Dearly beloved...". Bulma allowed a soft sob to escape her throat and leaned against Vegeta.   
  
As the vows were exchanged, another person walked out onto the aisle. It was Gideon, having just turned three less than a month ago. He held a small pillow in his hands, on which two shining objects were placed. He was the designated ring bearer. Luckily, for this occasion, Gideon had calmed down enough to walk down the aisle in a straight line and keep himself from becoming distracted. He made his way towards his parents with a joyous smile on his face. He didn't completely understand what was going on, he just liked being in the spotlight.   
  
"I do." Trunks spoke, sealing his vows. He reached down and took the smaller ring from Gideon and looked back up at Natalie. He took her left hand and slipped the ring onto her finger. The process continued, this time with Natalie making vows and putting the ring on Trunks' finger. When all was said and done, the preacher spoke.  
  
"You may kiss the bride."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
THE END 


End file.
